SheerLuck
by MistressSara
Summary: Bobby takes an undercover job that presents an opportunity to catch an old enemy. It also brings a new woman into his life. BobbyOFC. Reviews welcome. Crossover with SVU in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Sheer-Luck**

**Mistress Sara**

**Rating: M, most likely.**

**Disclaimer: I own a whole lot of nothing. Because let me tell you, if I owned Bobby Goren or any extension of Vincent D'Onofrio I wouldn't be sitting here writing Fanfiction… Enjoy the story. Reviews are most welcome.**

Captain Danny Ross of the Major Case Squad wasn't quite sure what to make of the note when it was first handed to him. He wasn't sure who Special Agent Sophia Rooks was but he was confident that the name Nicole Wallace was familiar. The aforementioned special agent would be arriving at the Major Case station in an hour and would need to speak to one of his own detectives, Robert Goren. From what he had heard Nicole Wallace was the Professor Moriarty to Goren's Sherlock Holmes. After working with Goren it was impossible to think that there was actually a criminal that could elude the bright detective. Some how this Nicole Wallace had managed to do it.

Danny just shook his head. He knew what that kind of defeat could do to a detective, even the good detectives. Knowing that a criminal is still free, even though you've tried your damnedest. And Danny knew that when it came to Goren the work effort was doubled in comparison. Picking up the phone he began to dial the detective's cell number, to make sure that in an hours time he would actually be in the office. A case had pulled Goren and his partner Eames out of the building.

"Goren." The voice answered.

"Yeah it's Ross, you need to be in my office in an hour." There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"Okay. A case?"

"Or something. Just be here."

"Okay." With that the call ended. One thing about detectives, they kept the phone calls concise and to the point.

An hour later Ross looked up at his door to see a tall brunette approaching, followed by an older man in a neat suit. All his years on the force told him that these were the agents from the FBI. The brunette was obviously Sophia Rooks, about 5'8" and in fit shape, an ideal young agent without a doubt. She was dressed professionally, black pants and a white three quarter length shirt. Even though she looked professional she looked feminine at the same time. He stood up and moved to the door, out into the main room.

"Captain Ross?" She asked.

"Yes. Special Agent Rooks?"

"Nice to meet you." She smiled politely, shaking the captain's offered hand. "This is my supervisor, Special Agent Harris." More handshakes were exchanged before the agents were shown into the captain's office.

"Detective Goren should be here soon, the note said that you wanted him present for this." Danny explained, gesturing for the two to sit in the chairs in front of his desk.

"That's correct." Harris answered. He had a very dull tone of voice, probably had been an agent since Hoover's days. "We figured it was only right, the majority of the information we have on Nicole Wallace came from Detective Goren." Danny looked up just as the detective in question appeared at the door of his office.

"Speak of the devil." Danny said, gesturing for him to come in. "Detective Goren this is Special Agents Harris and Rooks." Once more pleasantries were exchanged.

"It's nice to meet you detective." Sophia smiled as he took her offered hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Mostly good I hope." He smiled in return; releasing her hand after realizing that he had been holding it a moment longer then was necessary.

"Mostly." She smiled brightly at him.

"Agent Harris was about to explain why they're here."

"Yes. I was." Harris shot Sophia a scolding look before continuing. "Nicole Wallace." Goren's eyes lit up at the mention of the name. "Agent Rooks has been working undercover in a city in upstate New York, near the Pennsylvaina state line. We can't get into the details of the original case but through certain people it has been revealed that a woman fitting Nicole Wallace's description should be arriving within the next month or so."

"How do you know its Nicole?" Goren asked from the wall he was leaning against, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched as Rooks opened the case by her feet and pulled out a folder.

"This is from one of the interviews with a man we detained." She handed a piece of paper to Goren.

"Question: _Do you know who is in charge of the operation?_ Answer: _No. I get my orders and do what I'm told._ Question: _What kind of orders?_ Answer: _A variety of things. I do a little bit of everything. Last time I was in the city I had to pick up some foreign chick that was involved with one of the higher up guys._ Question: _Do you know who the woman was?_ Answer: _Nikki something… maybe Nicole. Had an accent, British or Australian… something like that. One of the other guys I work with said that she was a tough chick. Managed to avoid being arrested over and over again. Said she had no hesitation when it came to murder._" Goren stopped reading aloud but continued to look over the page he was holding.

"It sounds like her." He said after a moment of silence and realizing that the three people in the room were looking at him. "Nicole never showed hesitation when it came to murdering. Especially if she was going to benefit from it. Is she still set to arrive next month?"

"As far as we know. However these… people have a tendency to do act on the fly." Sophia began to explain. "A lot of what we have gotten so far has been pure luck. My cover was almost blown a few times because we didn't know that plans had been changed."

"May I ask what does any of this have to do with Detective Goren?" Danny interjected.

"We would like to bring Detective Goren in on this case. We could use his knowledge on Nicole and hopefully finally close the current investigation. Not to mention we would finally have Miss Wallace in custody, she could stand trial." Harris explained. Danny glanced over at Goren, finding that he was listening closely to the offer. After six years of failed attempts he could get her. Put her behind bars. Six years… nineteen murders that they knew about… A month undercover would be worth it.

"It's up to Detective Goren." Danny said. "If he's willing to do it then by all means."

"I'll do it." Goren said with out a moment of hesitation.

"Great." Sophia said almost a little too eagerly. Harris shot her another look before speaking again.

"We have had an identity set up for a while, should we need to use it." Harris gestured to Sophia, telling her to pull the other folder out of her bag and give it to Goren. He took the offered document and opened it to begin skimming; trying to get an idea of what he was getting into. "There is one small thing I should mention. This identity is as Sophia's husband. When we first put her undercover it was important that they knew she was spoken for… to avoid certain… complications shall we say? Do you have any problems with this?"

"None, its no problem at all." Goren shrugged portraying an air of nonchalance, he glanced for a moment at Sophia then back down at the folder in his hands.

"All right. You leave in two days." Harris stood pulling a business card out of his pocket and handing it to Goren. "If you need any assistance in getting things in order before leaving, give me a call."

"Thank you."

"Could I have a moment alone with Agent Harris please." Danny asked. Sophia and Goren nodded before getting up and leaving the two alone.

"So I guess we're going to be working together." Sophia said as they stood outside of the office.

"Yeah, I guess so." He smiled at her.

"Uh… if you want to… you know talk a little, maybe get to know each other before we start playing house… here's my cell number." She pulled a card out of the pocket and handed it to him.

"That would be helpful… yeah. I'll give you a call later?"

"Okay. I look forward to it Goren."

"Oh, call me Bobby please."

"Sophia."

"Well… we've got that taken care of."

"Hey Bobby, you've got a phone call." Eames said coming up next to the pair.

"Okay. I'll be right there." He said looking towards his partner for a moment before looking back to Sophia. "Uh I call you later?"

"We'll talk then." She smiled.

"Great." Bobby nodded then walked to his desk, realizing that they had just repeated the same conversation within the span of a few minutes. Eames looked at her partner then to the woman across the room, talking with the man who had just come out of Ross' office. Something was going on and she wasn't sure what it was yet. Considering that he partner was involved it was bound to be something interesting.

"Eames." Ross' voice came from next to her. "We need to discuss your new partner."

**That's all for right now. Let me know what you think… it was just a random idea I had the other night. I'll try and have another chapter up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the two reviews. **

**------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Eames took the news rather well, although the prospect of a temporary partner didn't thrill her. The notion that Bobby could finally get Nicole out of his mind and behind bars was positive motivation. They never really spoke about her or the case. Eames knew that it ate away at him though, knowing that that homicidal maniac was walking the streets.

"So… when do you leave?" She asked without looking up from the papers infront of her. For the last few minutes she had felt his eyes watching her.

"Two days." That got Eames' attention.

"Two days? That's quick."

"I guess these people have a tendency to change plans last minute. Nicole is supposedly arriving in a month but it could be earlier."

"Do you know what your cover is?" Bobby looked down at the information Sophia had given him before.

"Husband… just released from a low security prison. Apparently I had a career in auto theft."

"I bet you did." Eames laughed. "The female agent who was here before?"

"That would be the lovely Mrs... Duncan, according to this. She and I are going to meet later so I can become a little more familiar with the case."

"You two are playing house for a month?"

"Looks like it." Eames just smirked and shook her head.

"You're going to have an interesting month."

**------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Later that afternoon Bobby called Sophia and asked her to dinner that night. They agreed to meet at 6.30 but both managed to arrive closer to 7.00.

"Hi Bobby, sorry I'm late. Had a meeting run late." Sophia explained sitting down in the booth across from him. "Were you waiting long?"

"Not at all, I just got here a few minutes ago. Trying to make sure my open cases are taken care of." Bobby replied with a smile. They were in a relaxed atmosphere, a small pub that wasn't particularly busy on a Tuesday night. In face it was almost deserted except for an older woman at the end of the bar.

Sitting across from her Bobby realized just how attractive she was. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a firm ponytail, a few strands that worked their way loose during the day framed her face. What really captured him though were her eyes. Large, hazel eyes that seemed to glow under the dim over-head light.

"Bobby?" Her voice shook him from his study of her face.

"Yeah? Sorry… long day." That had to be the reason, he thought trying to get these unusually sentimental feelings.

"I hear that." Sophia replied with a tired smile. "Feels like it should be Friday."

"If it were we'd be working."

"Yes we would. Speaking of which, any questions on the cover?"

"Not really. I'm Robert Duncan, you're Sophia Duncan."

"Our guys are very creative with names." She interjected sarcastically.

"Married for 11 years, 2 of which I've been in prison for stealing cars."

"What kind of cars?" She prompted him.

"Vintage sports cars."

"In particular?"

"For one a Mercedes-Benz 300sl, a 1957 Roadster."

"Nice ride." She smiled at his improv.

"Thanks." He said, realizing that he had smiled more in the past 10 minutes then he had in a long time.

"And what does your wife do for a living?" The two of them knew that it was important to be as familiar with your covers as your are with yourself.

"Real estates, among other things. She has a clean record, not even a parking ticket."

"God Bobby, did you memorize that entire folder this afternoon?"

"Close." He had a moderately shy tone. "I'm a thorough reader."

"Good to know."

"There was something missing from the information you gave me however."

"Oh?"

"There didn't seem to be anything on what this case is about. Not even in a general sense."

"That wasn't a lack of thoroughness, it was intentional and done by Harris until you agreed."

"And now that I've agreed?"

"I can fill you in." There was a moment of hesitation before Sophia began to speak again.

**------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**That's all for right now. I'll update again soon. Thanks for reading (and hopefully reviewing).**


	3. Chapter 3

"A few months ago local girls began to disappear. The amount was alarming for a small town. It kept happening. Teenage girls on their way home from school or at the mall just… gone. Without a word to anyone. Their officers didn't know what was going on and that's when Agent Harris got involved. Without going into too much detail, he found out that the girls were being kidnapped and sold. The ones that didn't make as much were kept to collect money from drug deals or prostitution."

"How did you end up getting involved?"

"Harris trained me when I first joined the bureau, he requested that I be placed undercover. We had detained one of the girls and found a way in for me. The whole real estate thing is so that I can new girls for them. People buying and selling with daughters. Find out if they walk from school, if they're ever home alone. Most of the information is either false or traps."

"Where does Nicole come into all of this?"

"The man who runs the operation is a man name Charles Carey. An Australian native and an old schoolmate of Nicole's as we found out today. The meeting I was in this afternoon, new information. It's definitely Nicole who's coming. Charles owes her and his way of paying her back is a piece of the action. When she arrives we're going to take them down."

"Why the wait? If you've got everything you need now, why hold off?"

"Nicole Wallace. We want her off the streets as much as you do. I've checked, this will be the first time she has surfaced since…"

"Since going out a window."

"You were there." It wasn't a question.

"There was a bit of a debate over whether or not she was still alive… It wouldn't have been beyond her to save up some blood and fake her death." They fell into silence. Sophia looked at her empty plate and Bobby watched the woman at the bar for a few moments. "19 murders… Every time I almost had her. Every time she slipped through my fingers."

"Well, maybe this time will be the charm."

"Maybe… so uh… how long have you been an agent?" Bobby asked, in need of a subject change.

"Gosh its been… almost 15 years now. Started on a desk job, moved up to field work and now undercover." She glanced down at her watch and was surprised to see that it was almost 10. "I should really get going. My three days back in the city and I'm spending most of them in meetings."

"How long have you been undercover for?" Bobby asked as they left the bar and started down the sidewalk.

"About a month and a half. This is the first time I've been back in the city since I've started. Nice to be home even if it's only for a few days."

"Married?"

"Nope. The job takes over the social life at some point. I can't remember the last date I went on."

"Same here." Bobby nodded in understanding.

"And now you're married, tah-dah." The two laughed as they continued down the sidewalk. It wasn't until they stopped at her door that Sophia realized he had walked her home. "Well… this is me."

"Do you want to grab some dinner or something tomorrow night? I mean we're supposed to have been married for 11 years… we should probably get to know each other a little better." Bobby wasn't sure why he felt the need to explain his motivation for asking her to dinner again.

"Uh sure. I was just planning on ordering some Chinese and eating here if you want to come by."

"Sounds great."

"Okay… around 7?"

"See you then."

"Okay." Sophia watched as he walked towards the elevators. "Hey Bobby." He spun around to face her. "Thanks for walking me back."

"No problem." He smiled.

"Good night."

"Night."

**---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ------------------------------------ --------------------------- ------------------------**

**Thanks for the reviews. Seriously made my day when I checked my mail this morning. Hopefully I have another chapter up soon and the action will start to pick up, I promise.**


	4. Chapter 4

**About location confusion: okay, I'm prone to typing errors from time to time. I wanted to set the story some place random so I just said in New York near the PA state line (I'm from PA originally so I like to throw the place a bone from time to time). The word upstate was accidental forget it happened. Enjoy the next chapter.**

---------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -----------

Thursday afternoon Bobby and Sophia climbed into her black SUV to drive to their house near the PA state line. That morning Bobby had stopped by Major Case to see Eames before leaving. While he was gone she would be working with Logan, who had found himself without a partner once more. She hugged Bobby while they waited for the elevator.

"Be careful." She had a small smile on her face.

"Don't get too comfortable with Logan. You know how I… you know."

"I know… me too Bobby." They were both hesitant to exchange the sentiment verbally but they both knew what was between them. Bobby smiled at the memory before looking over at Sophia who was relaxed behind the wheel of the SUV. There was no question of who would drive considering that he didn't know exactly where they were going.

"So does anyone know that you're married in this town?"

"Its been mentioned in passing but for the most part no one really knows anything. I told Charles that I would be gone for a few days because you were being released. Which reminds me, tomorrow we have dinner with him."

"Anything I need to know?"

"Nothing in particular. Act like you've just gotten out of prison. Charles will ask about it. Where you were serving time, what you did to get there."

"Why did Harris think it was necessary for you to go in saying you had a husband? …he kind of made a point of it in that first meeting." Sophia paused for a moment before answering.

"I don't know… to protect me I guess. A lot of the guys who work for Charles wouldn't hesitate to go after a single woman. One with a husband in jail would keep them a bay. Harris sometimes forgets that I'm an agent not his daughter."

"It can be hard working for your mentor."

"I saw your file, I know."

"You read my file?" Bobby wasn't sure how to take this.

"Well, I didn't read it cover to cover. It was like a text book." Sophia laughed nervously as she mentally kicked herself for letting it slip that she had done some research on him.

"I guess you have me at a disadvantage. I don't really have the clearance to get your file."

"Not much to see in mine. A few minor indiscretions, rushing the stage at a rock concert."

"Really?" Bobby asked with a laugh. "A good band I hope?"

"I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't. It was a Queen concert."

"Are you old enough to know who Queen is?"

"38 isn't exactly young."

"Not that old either."

"A happy medium?"

"Something like that." The two fell into silence for the next hour or so. Sophia drove while Bobby read. "Are you getting tired of driving?"

"No, that's okay. We're almost there. Uh, there's an envelope on the backseat if you want to grab that."

Bobby turned and saw the large manila envelope. He opened it to find all of the dummy background information. Birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, wedding certificate.

"No wedding pictures?" Bobby joked.

"Vegas elopement, no pictures."

"The Feds think of everything."

"We certainly give that impression don't we. Speaking of which there should be something else in there."

"Oh…" Bobby looked in and found a pair of gold bands at the bottom. "Yours." He offered her the smaller of the two rings.

"Thanks." She slid the band on and glanced over as Bobby did the same thing. "Here we are." She announced as the car pulled to a stop.

"Hey, do you know him?" Bobby asked looking towards the front porch of the house.

"Yeah. We're going in feet first right now." She said before closing the door. "Eddie, what are you doing here." She called to the man. He was of average height, maybe a little shorter then Sophia. Slender build, dirty blonde hair, and rather shifty eyes.

"Waiting for you Soph. We've got some business to discuss." He approached her with a cocky stride until Bobby climbed out of the car. Eddie paused and shot Sophia a questioning look.

"Eddie, this is my husband Robert. Don't make any sudden movements, just got out of prison." Sophia warned before shooting an amused glance at Bobby. With a sigh he got into character and walked towards the considerably smaller man.

"What business do you have with my wife exactly?"

---------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -----------

**Hopefully you're enjoying, there should be another chapter soon hopefully. Thanks so much for the reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll ask again. What business do you have with my wife?" Bobby had a staggering height advantage when standing next to Eddie. Sophie covered her mouth, trying to hide an amused smile. "Did you not hear me?"

"I heard you…" Eddie turned to face Sophie. "Charles sent me to find out if you were back yet."

"She's back. What of it?"

"He wants to see you, soon as possible." Eddie was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Bobby and continued to look towards Sophie.

"We're having diner tomorrow, is that not soon enough?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"Guess not."

"Here's the situation… Eddie was it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Here's the situation Eddie. I just spent two years locked up away from my wife and surrounded by a lot of guys. So here's what's going to happen, Soph and I are going to go into the house here. And we're going to be busy for the next couple of hours, at least. Are you catching my drift here?" Eddie nodded. "Okay. So you can run along and pass that on to your boss. Got it?"

Eddie turned to look at Sophie again. She had turned a bright shade of red. Any worries she might've had about Bobby getting into this character were gone now. For a moment her eyes met with her _husband's_ and for a moment Sophie allowed herself to imagine him following through on his earlier statement. Her blush went a shade deeper as different ways to fill those hours flooded her imagination.

"Looks like a yes to me. Lets go babe." Bobby grinned walking past Eddie towards the house. Sophie just shrugged when Eddie gave her a confused and moderately terrified look then rushed over to where Bobby was waiting for her.

"See ya later Eddie!" She called as they climbed the stairs of the porch and to the front door. Eddie watched as Bobby's hand moved down Sophie's back, landing on her hip. The two disappeared into the house and Eddie went to find his boss.

It was a small two-story house. From first glance Bobby could tell that it was a former safe house. The place was rather sparsely decorated in an almost generic fashion. However Sophie had been simply passing it off as: she had just moved in a few months ago and hadn't been worried about decorating. They were standing in the entranceway for a few moments before Bobby realized that his hand was still resting on Sophie's waist. With a small apology he removed his hand and placed it firmly in his jeans pocket.

"Well this is it." Sophie smiled, walking towards the living room.

"It's nice." Bobby said, looking around the room they had shifted into. It had a decent size leather couch and a recliner, both facing the television. A coffee table was in leg reach of the couch. The room had a comfortable feel to it.

"Uh, kitchen and laundry room are down this hall." She pointed down the short hallway at a swinging door. Dining room is on the other side of the stairs here. Bathroom under the stairs, which is a bit of a snug fit. Obviously this was not a house built for tall people."

"And upstairs?"

"I'll show you." Sophie marveled at the unintentional flirtations tone that came out of her mouth. It wasn't really like her to behave like this with someone she was working with… come to think of it, she wasn't like that at all. She decided to ignore it as long as possible. To try and calm the bizarre feeling she got in her stomach when he put his hand on her back. "Bedroom, den, each has an attached bathroom."

The bedroom was off to the left and the den to the right. It seemed to hit Bobby and Sophie at the same time that they hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements at all. Bobby moved towards the den and looked in to see if there was a couch.

"I can just sleep in here." He offered.

"Oh no, you can take the bedroom if you want… I don't know how well that couch will accommodate your height."

"We could switch."

"Yeah, that'll work…. Uh I'll go see if there's anything eatable for dinner."

"Okay. I'm going to grab the bags from the car." Their first day together as a married couple was certainly off to an awkward start. And it was about to get worse. As Bobby was out getting their things from the car another vehicle pulled in behind Sophie's SUV. It was a dark green Corvette. Vintage. When the man driving got out Bobby realized that this must be Charles.

He was tall, about 6 foot, Bobby still retained his usual physical advantage. He also didn't seem to have much in the way of muscles or weight for that matter. It was hard to believe that this was the man in charge of such a despicable, powerful organization.

"You must be Sophie's husband." He said moving towards Bobby.

"Robert Duncan." Bobby replied, shaking the offered hand.

"Charles Carey. I'm sure Sophie has mentioned me."

"Yeah. You here to see her?"

"If she isn't busy. Based off of what Eddie said, with you out here, I'm guessing she isn't." Charles had an annoying smile on his face. One that Bobby would've liked to smack off of him.

"She's inside getting some dinner ready. It's been a while, she needs to build up some energy first." That took care of Charles' smirk. Bobby closed the back of the SUV, Sophie's bag over his shoulder and his own in hand. Charles followed him into the house. "Soph put some clothes on, we've got company." Bobby jokingly called out as he put the bags down at the foot of the stairs and gestured towards the living room with his free hand. Charles nodded in thanks and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Be there in a minute." She called back in an amused tone.

"Sophie said you've just gotten out of one of the state's finer establishments."

"You could say that." Bobby adopted a cocky smirk he often saw on proud criminals. The ones who felt no guilt for their crimes.

"What for? If you don't mind my asking." Charles had an accent similar to Nicole's. Almost British but with a slight lilt that made it Australian. He even had the same taunting tone when asking questions.

"Auto theft."

"Cars that were worth it I hope. Certainly something worth being away from your wife for so long."

"Vintage and I never heard **any** complaints from **my wife**."

"Of course… wonder what's keeping Sophie."

"I'll go find out." Bobby stood from where he had been sitting on the couch and walked back to kitchen. "Soph?" He called to her as he approached the door.

"Yeah?" She was watching a few pots cooking on the stove.

"Charles is here to see you." He then raised his voice "You go out there a deal with him, otherwise he'll be limping out of here." Sophie looked at him with a slightly amused expression. She stifled a laugh at the random statement he made.

"Will you calm down." She lowered her voice. "Stir the sauce, put the pasta in when the water boils."

"Okay." Raising his voice again, "Will you get rid of that guy, we've got **things** to do."

"Give me five minutes okay." Sophie smiled at him before leaving through the swinging door. Bobby remained at the stove, watching over their dinner. A few minutes later he heard the front door slam shut. He waited for Sophie to return to the kitchen but she didn't. Another moment passed before Bobby turned the stove off and made his way back out to the living room. It was empty.

**---------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- -----------------------------**

**All right I'll try and get another chapter up quickly. I cannot even begin to tell everyone how much I've appreciated the reviews. So great and seriously just make my day. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed the ridiculously awesome CI and SVU marathon. Enjoy the chapter and keep the reviews coming.**

**--Sara**


	6. Chapter 6

Bobby looked around the empty living room. There were no signs of a struggle… not to mention Sophie struck him as some kind of a shouter. Out of the corner of his eye Bobby noticed movement through the window overlooking the porch. He carefully moved to peak out. Charles was standing close to Sophie, his hand resting on her tense shoulder. It quickly became obvious that this was an uncomfortable situation for Sophie.

"Soph?" He called out while walking towards the door. When he opened it Charles had removed his hand and Sophie had back away from him. "Hey babe, I think I might have ruined the sauce."

"Okay… I'll be right there." She smiled at him. Her arms were crossed, Bobby recognized the body language and continued to stand in the doorway. "We'll see you tomorrow Charles."

"Of course, goodnight."

"Night." Sophie replied in a stiff tone. The two watched as the man left their porch and returned to his car.

"You okay?" Bobby asked, moving back a few steps so that she could come into the house.

"Fine. Apparently I should be worried about you though." Sophie closed the door then leaned against it.

"Me? Why?"

"According to Charles prison changes a man and you've got the eyes of one ready to snap."

"He got that confused with annoyed husband."

"I figured as much."

"You looked kinda uncomfortable out there."

"Charles doesn't know the meaning of personal space… stands a little too close, likes to put his hands on me." Sophie visibly shuddered.

"Sorry about earlier." He suddenly apologized. Sophie looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Outside I put my arm around you… if I had known it makes you uncomfortable…"

"No no, that was fine. Charles touching me is an unwelcome gesture."

"Mine is a welcomed gesture?" Bobby teased with a wide grin. Sophie blushed and looked down. Silence fell between them for a moment.

"Uh… you didn't really ruin that sauce did you?" She asked pushing away from the door and walking towards the kitchen. Bobby continued to grin as he followed her.

"No, not really. In fact I think I made it better." Sophie returned to the stove and turned the burners back on.

"We have dinner tomorrow night with Charles and a few associates. It'll be incredibly dull but hopefully they'll offer you a job." Sophie still wasn't looking at him, keeping her back turned.

"All right." Bobby's smile began to fade. Maybe he shouldn't have teased her. What he couldn't see was that she was wearing a shy smile.

After they ate their dinner in near silence. Once the dishes were cleaned and put away, both decided to get some sleep. Bobby offered to take the couch for the first night and Sophie disappeared to get some pillows and blankets. Taking a closer look at the couch Bobby realized that it was going to be uncomfortable for both of them considering height and size. However without complaint Bobby went into the bathroom, changing into NYPD sweatpants and a t-shirt. He returned to find that Sophie had made up the couch for him.

"I could've done that."

"Oh, that's all right… uh… goodnight." She made for the door.

"Night." He replied, lying down. His legs dangled over the arm of the couch and his arms couldn't fit comfortably at his sides.

"Need anything…" Sophie had turned back to look at him and broke out in laughter. "This is ridiculous, will you just take the damn bed?"

"This couch isn't going to be all that comfortable for you either." Bobby pointed out. The thought of sharing the bed had crossed his mind but given her reaction earlier to his teasing, he decided to let her make that choice.

"I guess… I guess we could share."

"The couch? Not easily." He joked, provoking another laugh from her.

"The bed, smartass."

"Would you be comfortable with that?" Bobby swung his legs down so that he was sitting normally.

"We're both adults and it's a big bed. Should be fine." Bobby shrugged and stood. Sophie was still standing in the doorway. She seemed to have zoned out for a moment because Bobby was standing in front of her without her realizing it.

"Soph? Sophie?"

"Huh? Oh sorry." She half smiled then turned to leave the room. Bobby followed her across the hall to the bedroom. It was a fairly large room. The bed was pushed towards one of the windows, across from the attached bathroom. A closet and chest of drawers were along the only other empty wall. Two small nightstands were on either side of the bed.

"Which side?" Bobby asked looking at the bed. He couldn't tell which side she had been sleeping on.

"Uh, I've been sleeping to the left. But I can really sleep any where if you have a particular side." Sophie answered looking at anything in the room that wasn't the bed or him. "I'm going to get changed."

Bobby watched as she retreated to the bathroom. He shrugged. The only way to get past this awkwardness was to ignore it, he decided. Happily he climbed into the bed. It was a much better fit for him then the couch. He stretched his legs and settled into the mattress. When the door to the bathroom opened he didn't look up right away, being too close to falling asleep. But when she walked into his line of vision Bobby definitely noticed.

"Something wrong?" She asked, realizing that he was staring at her.

"No… nothing… just… uh nice tattoo." Bobby managed. She was wearing a pair of short black shorts and a matched tank top that had slid up slightly when she moved the comforter down. There on her lower hip was a thin outline of a chess rook.

"Oh thanks." She smiled as she pulled her top back down and climbed into the bed.

"For your last name?"

"Yeah. My real one." _He obviously knew that,_ Sophie chastised herself. "Uh, I set the alarm for 7."

"7 is fine."

"Okay… well, night."

"Goodnight."

Sophie reached over and turned off the lamp on her bedside table, plunging the room into darkness. It took Bobby only a moment to realize that he could feel her next to him without actual, physical contact. He took a deep breath, this was going to be a long night.

**------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------**

**Sorry for the wait. Had some finals to write. However the semester is over, I'm on break, chapters will be written. And a lot of D'Onofrio movies watched. Gotta say, The Cell was a little weird. Some more coming soon.**

**--Sara**


	7. Chapter 7

It's amazing how much you move while sleeping. Rarely do you wake up n the same position as the night before. It can be a massive movement and you wake up on the floor. Or small movements. For example two people can fall asleep, one on his back and the other on her side, facing away from him. Yet when they wake he has turned on his side and she has nestled in, resting her head on his shoulder.

Bobby woke up first. He could see the large digital numbers of the clock, only a few minutes before the alarm would go off. His eyes closed, determined to relish those last few moments of sleep. Without realizing it he pulled Sophie closer and dozed off. Suddenly his eyes popped back open and looked down. Her long brown hair was splayed around her and rubbing against his left arm, which was resting between her head and the pillow she had pushed aside to lay on him.

It wasn't all that uncomfortable, Bobby realized. It had been a long time since he woke up next to a warm body. Her chosen pajamas had confused him earlier, especially considering the cold climate. However with her body now pressed against his own it was clear that she got overheated while sleeping. Not that he was complaining. Waking up to find that the beautiful, scantily clad woman you're sharing a bed with has curled up next to you during the middle of the night… lets say that there are worse ways to wake up.

**BEEP BEEP **The alarm… deafening, blaring stupid alarm.

Quickly Bobby loosened his grip on Sophie so that she could reach the clock. Without opening her eyes Sophie turned in his arms and stretched out, her hand just barely reaching the snooze button. Once the offensive noise was silenced she snuggled back in against Bobby. That early in the morning… lightly rubbing against him and a barely audible moan of comfort had effects on Bobby. Who suddenly felt the need to get out of the bed without causing either of them too much embarrassment.

"Sophie." He whispered. "Soph, roll over."

She did as he said, freeing his arm allowing an escape from the bed. Bobby moved to the bathroom. Even through the closed door he attempted to be as quiet as possible. Upon reentering the bedroom he found Sophie sitting in the middle of the bed, trying to get her bearings.

"Morning." He said with a small smile.

"Morning." She replied, her voice was hoarse with sleep. "Have you been up long?"

"Just a little bit. I was going to go downstairs and make some coffee."

"Mmm… coffee's good." She smiled unconsciously. "I'm going to shower."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then. Sophie just nodded as Bobby set off to the kitchen. The morning was rather quiet, it became clear that Sophie was definitely not a morning person. They spent most of the day reviewing points of the case that might come up at dinner.

Sometimes this job was like being in school again. Studying and memorizing facts. The material was just a little different. And with a badge and gun. Sophie thought about this as she got dressed for dinner. They were going somewhere semi-nice, so she wore a tight, knee length skirt. The bright red contrasting with the pale coloring of her legs. She wore a black sweater that hugged her curves. Glancing out the window she noticed that it had begun to snow… actually it looked like it had been snowing for hours. She and Bobby were too busy talking that neither noticed. Grabbing a pair of black pantyhose and heeled boots, Sophie finished her outfit before heading downstairs where Bobby was waiting for her.

He wore a dark suit and a white dress shirt, basically what he wore to work without the tie. While waiting for Sophie he had taken a seat on the couch in the living room. Opening the local newspaper he saw that not as much happened on a day-to-day basis. Not like in the city. With a sigh Bobby put the thin paper aside and glanced back to the staircase. He looked in time to see Sophie coming down the stairs. He stood as she came into the room. With her heels on they were almost eye-to-eye. Sophie smiled at him.

"You look… beautiful." Bobby smiled shyly.

"Thanks… you look great. I like you without the tie."

"Thanks. Should we go?"

"Yeah, lets."

Bobby hadn't seen much of the area yet, not that there was a lot to see. There was a main street, which housed a lot of local restaurants and stores. Further out there were chain restaurants and a mall. In the other direction there was a serious of old factories that had been closed and abandoned for years. Other then that there were the three main structures of a small city: houses, churches, and bars. There were two elementary schools and two high schools, a private and public of each.

The restaurant they were going to was located on the main drag, at the end of the block. They parked along the street and walked through the few inches of snow to the front door of the building. The lighting was dim and the walls a dark red. It was an intimate setting, a place that would normally be the perfect place for a date. The host seemed to recognize Sophie and informed her that everyone else had already arrived. She nodded and continued to walk through the dining room towards a spiral staircase near the back.

"These guys have watched a little too much Godfather. Backroom dealings and what not." Sophie said as they reached the stairs. Bobby just smiled and nodded as he followed her up the black metal stairs. It was not a view that he had a problem with. Especially considering her tight skirt. _Stop thinking like this_, he scolded himself. Trying to keep focus on the job. The upstairs was empty with the exception of one table. Charles was easily recognizable among the three other men. Two seats were empty, waiting for Sophie and Bobby.

"There you are, we were beginning to think that you two weren't coming."

"Or that you were coming in a different way." One man laughed. Overly amused with what he thought was a brilliant, dirty comment.

"Oh, there's that razor sharp wit I love." Sophie remarked sarcastically. Bobby pulled out the chair for her to sit. Rather then giving her the chair next to Charles, he gave her the next one over. Bobby made the decision to act as a barrier between the two. A gesture that was not missed by Charles.

"Gentlemen, this is Robert, Sophie's husband." Charles introduced Bobby to each of the men. The one who had made the comment when they came in was Fred Foley. A middle aged man, short and stalky. He was already loosing his hair. Next to him was Gregory Matthews. Early fifties, completely gray. He basically looked liked they propped him up and positioned the glass of beer in his hand. The third man was John Bartlett. He was around Sophie's age. For the most part John was a good-looking man, with the exception of a large scar down the right side of his face.

"Good to see you Sophie."

"You too John."

"Have a nice time in the city?" Sophie grinned at Bobby who took her hand.

"Great time." She replied. "How has business been?"

"Slow." Charles answered for John. "We've got angry clients. Monday morning you need to be back to work Sophie."

"Two steps ahead of you Charles. I've got five open houses this next week, all in neighborhoods near the high school." Sophie said, reaching for her wine glass. Bobby picked up the bottle to fill the cup in her hand.

"Good. Maybe we can find something for Robert to do while you're at work."

"He could help down at the club maybe." Sophie suggested, looking to John.

"Sure. Ever work security Robert?" John asked. Bobby exchanged a grin with Sophie. To the men at the table it was just an exchange between husband and wife.

"I think I could handle it."

"Bring him down Sunday night." John instructed Sophie. "We'll see what we can do."

"Great. I appreciate it." Bobby nodded.

"Not a problem." The conversation reached a standstill when a waiter appeared at the table to take their order. Sophie was the only one to make conversation with the waiter.

"How's it going Lee?"

"Pretty good Sophie. You?"

"Can't complain. Do you know if Jennifer is here tonight?"

"Yeah she just got here a few minutes ago." Lee said, he finished taking meal orders then returned down stairs.

"I'll be right back." Sophie stood up. "I have some business to attend to."

"Jennifer have a daughter?" Fred called to her.

"No, I'm keeping up the pretense of an actual real estate agent. Plus I get commission either way." Sophie laughed before continuing towards the stairs. Bobby watched as she walked away. Admiring the tight skirt she had chosen. Turning back to the men at the table he found that he wasn't the only one.

"You guys mind? That is my wife." Bobby said, not in a threatening tone but in a way that they knew he was serious.

"Sorry man." John was the first to say anything. "We sometimes forget that Sophie is married."

"You're a lucky son of a bitch." Gregory laughed lighting his cigar. "Beautiful young woman like that."

"Age difference?" Fred asked.

"About 10 years." Bobby got a sly grin on his face. "The age makes the difference." This provoked a laugh from the men except for Charles.

"Don't mind him." Fred gestured towards Charles. "He's going to be in a bad mood until that girlfriend of his gets into town."

"Ya got a girlfriend?" Bobby asked him.

"She isn't my girlfriend. She's a praying mantis; I'm not stupid enough to get involved with Nikki. That's asking for trouble." Bobby leaned back in his chair. Finally he'd be able to get a little more in site on the woman who has eluded him for so many years.

**----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------**

**Sorry for the wait. I finished finals and just crashed for a week. Sleeping and DVD watching. Happy winter break. I'll try and get some more up this weekend. Enjoy the chapter, reviews are dipped in chocolate and wrapped in foil. (It's late and I'm tired).**

**--Sara**


	8. Chapter 8

"If Nikki didn't cause death she caused drinking. I think a majority of our school teachers are still stuck in whatever bottle they crawled into." Charles muttered, almost bitterly, taking a sip of his wine.

"Sounds like a hell of a woman." Bobby chuckled, hoping that he sounded detached from the topic rather then desperate to hear more. He looked towards the staircase wondering where Sophie had gotten. It had been a few minutes since she had gone downstairs.

"Robert, you should've never married a beautiful woman." Fred smiled over his glass of wine. "Most of the time is spent wondering where she is. I married an average girl, best choice I've ever made. Don't have to worry about who she's with. She's happy to stay at home with the kids."

"The dream of every woman." Sophie said, approaching the table. "Robert, would you like to get me knocked up then lock me in the kitchen?"

"I hate to break it to you Soph, but you aren't that great of a cook." Bobby laughed.

"Drat. Between going to college and getting a job I must've skipped home ec." Bobby, John and Charles were all amused by Sophie's comment. Fred and Gregory less then amused to hear their ancient beliefs attacked so boldly by a woman. The topic was not broached again during the meal. Once the plates were cleared and business was dealt with, it was time to leave.

"I'll see you on Monday Charles." Sophie and Bobby stood.

"Night gentlemen." Bobby said in a rather relaxed tone. He and Sophie moved towards the stairs. Bobby's arm found its way around her lower waist, his hand resting on her hip. For a moment he glanced back at the men at the table and flashed a cocky grin.

"You boys have a nice chat?" Sophie asked when they reached the sidewalk. Although they were out of the site of their dinner companions Bobby kept an arm around Sophie, keeping her close in the cold weather.

"Oh, it was illuminating. Apparently I shouldn't have married a beautiful woman and Nicole drove her teachers to drink." Bobby sighed, taking in the surroundings. The street was relatively deserted for only being 10 o'clock on a Saturday night. "Is the city always this dead?"

"More so since the girls started disappearing. I'm sure that a lot of people are out at the mall and what not." Bobby nodded as he pulled the car keys from his pocket. Unlocking the door he opened the passenger side for Sophie and helping her in. He rushed around to the driver side, realizing that it had gotten very cold very fast.

"So… anything to do in this city aside from conspiring with criminals and freezing your ass off?" Bobby asked starting the car.

"Hmm… I think that criminals and freezing pretty much covers the local activities." Sophie laughed putting on a pair of thick gloves. "Well and drinking. That tends to be fairly popular." The drive home was spent discussing what had been talked about at dinner. Not much of the information they received proved to be significant.

"You know," Bobby began as they climbed out of the car and towards the back door of the house, "aside from the whole kidnapping and prostitution ring, this is a nice place. It's quiet."

"Big change from the city." Sophie sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "It is nice though."

"Did you grow up in New York?"

"Pennsylvania. Moved to New York when I was in high school. You?"

"Brooklyn."

"Ah, city boy through and through." Bobby smiled at this. "I lived in the country until I moved."

"How'd you end up in New York?"

"My parents were in an accident, I was sent to live with my aunt."

"Sorry."

"That's alright, you didn't know." Sophie shivered and burrowed further into her coat.

"Are you cold?"

"A little."

"Lets go in." Bobby opened the screen door while Sophie unlocked the main. Entering the house Sophie paused suddenly in the doorway, causing Bobby to collide. "Sorry…" Looking up he realized why she paused. The kitchen was trashed. Cabinets were open, drawers pulled out and this was only the tip of the iceberg. The living room looked the same.

"Oh… fuck!" Sophie exclaimed before running upstairs. Bobby followed her, not knowing exactly why. He found her in the bedroom, opening one of the drawers of the nightstand. The bedroom didn't look quite as disrupted as the rest of the house did. "Charles sent Eddie to do this. When I first got involved with the operation he did the same thing."

"You know for sure that it was Eddie?"

"My underwear drawer." Sophie said, pointing towards the drawer that lay on the floor, its contents spilt over the area rug. "Little perv better not have taken anything." As she spoke, Sophie pulled open the nightstand as far as it would go and reached her hand in behind it. She then pulled out a small key and stood, moving out of the room and towards the den. Bobby paused for a moment before following her, having become momentarily hypnotized by a pair of red lace panties. He shook his head before following again.

"He's not the brightest of men." Sophie informed Bobby as she unlocked a built in cabinet. Inside was a stationary vault, locked by a number pad. With a sigh of relief she closed the cabinet door again and locked it. "Missed this the first time too. My incase of emergency documentation, an insistence of Harris. Won't let me go undercover without it."

"He just sends Eddie in to have a look around?"

"Pretty much."

"How did you find out it was him the first time?"

"I came into the house, he was still upstairs. I pulled my gun on him and that cleared a few things up. It's incredible how much a person will talk when you've got a loaded weapon on them. Even more so when they aren't bright enough to realize that the safety is on." Sophie explained, leaning against the desk and taking a moment to look around the disarrayed room. With a sigh she began to pick up books and put them back on the shelves. Bobby followed suit and started to help clean up the room.

"Fun evening, huh?" Sophie smiled at him as they finished up the kitchen.

"Probably more exciting then what I would be doing at home."

"What's that?"

"Reading or staying at work late. Left over Chinese food and going to bed ridiculously early." Bobby sat down at the kitchen table.

"You've just described most of my nights." Sophie finished putting away the contents of another cabinet. "We do have one option that could save this night."

"Yeah?"

"I've got scotch and I've got vodka." She suggested, placing two glasses on the table while speaking.

"Vodka please."

"Me too." She smiled, moving to the freezer. "As rewarding as this job can be it does suck from time to time."

"It does." Bobby agreed. "Coming home to an empty apartment night after night starts to wear after a while."

"Can't build a family let alone relationships."

"Kids aren't even an option."

"That's what I need, a child that's been swimming my tainted gene pool." Sophie said as she poured the clear liquid into the empty glasses. Bobby fell silent as his thoughts turned to his mother and the disease that had plagued her for the majority of his life. The reason that he would never risk having children. The mere thought of passing that on to a child gave him a shiver of guilt.

With a sigh Bobby took a sip from his glass, enjoying the burn as the liquid flowed down his throat.

"Same feelings?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Well… this is moderately depressing." Sophie smiled weakly while taking a sip from her own glass. "Better then drinking alone though."

She made him smile again. It was becoming a nasty habit. Tough city detective, smiling all the time. This wasn't normal for him. But it was while wearing this smile that he sank the rest of his drink.

"I think I've had enough for tonight." He said, standing up and putting his empty cup in the sink. "You?"

"Yeah." Sophie gulped down the rest of her liquid before handing him the cup. Bobby moved to the door, making sure it was locked. Without really realizing why Sophie waited as he checked the doors. It gave her a sense of security that she hadn't felt for years, since she was a little girl. She had to restrain herself from throwing her arms around Bobby's sturdy frame and hugging him tightly.

The thoughts going through Bobby's mind were slightly less wholesome. He allowed himself another couple of moments thinking about those red panties he had caught sight of earlier. Now following Sophie up the stairs… well maybe she would cozy up to him again tonight. Putting aside thought of tomorrow and the work they had done that night he focused on getting into bed. It was going to be another long night followed by a long day at John's club. Climbing into bed with Sophie had suddenly become something to look forward to.

"Night." She said softly, rolling onto her stomach.

"Night."

**--------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------**

**Okay, sorry for the wait. Sadly it seems to be becoming a habit. I'll try and get the next chapter up a little quicker, I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going to take things. Reviews are awesome and I really appreciate them. Seriously they make my day. Of course New Years Eve is going to be made by the CI marathon. **

**Happy Holidays everyone.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Beep… Beep… Beep**

"No… damn." Sophie muttered rolling over and hitting the clock. Without thinking about it she rolled back into the position she had been in before. It took her a moment to realize that that was in Bobby's arms.

"What time?" Bobby asked sleepily as he tightened his hold on her.

"Like 7. Don't have to get up yet."

"Okay." With in a few seconds Bobby had fallen asleep again. His hand was resting on her hip, underneath her shirt. It was useless for Sophie to try and go back to sleep, she was awake now and very aware of Bobby's hold on her.

She took a deep breath then began to look around the room in the morning light. The ceiling fan had been turned off, probably Bobby. Sometimes Sophie forgot that not everyone kept his or her bedroom at a breezy 67 degrees. She noticed something else too.

"Hey Bobby… Bobby?"

"Hm… yeah?" He asked, not lifting his head from the pillow.

"Did you open the vent?"

"Vent?"

"Yeah. The fan's off and the vent's open."

"Wasn't me… I like the fan on. I thought that you turned it off." Bobby was beginning to sit up a little bit. Both were quiet for a moment, sitting up. Without explanation Bobby leaned over and pulled Sophie into a kiss. She didn't question it, to the contrary, she relished it. He pulled a way and leaned in close to her ear.

"Go into the bathroom, I'll be in there in a minute." He whispered. Sophie nodded wordlessly and got out of bed. Bobby stood on the edge of the bed and reached the vent. He looked closely at it before closing it. He crossed the room and turned the fan on again before making his way into the bathroom.

There he found Sophie standing on the toilet, closing the vent in there as well. When she heard the door close behind Bobby it startled her, causing her to loose her footing and fall against him.

"Sorry."

"That's alright. I walk around waiting for women to fall into my arms."

"We've been bugged."

"Yeah. I closed the vent. There's a camera up there."

"Nothing in here."

"Who would want to bug a bathroom?"

"Bedroom's bugged, that one's obvious, Eddie's a perv. Probably the living room and den too. What do you think we should do?"

"Find the other cameras and close the vents."

"We should probably look around for any microphones too."

"Yeah, that camera looked too small for any attached microphone that could work."

"You kissed me."

"What?"

"You kissed me. Before. Out there in…"

"Yes. I figured if they were watching us it might seem strange for a married couple not to interact… romantically."

"Right. Good thinking. I'll go check the living room, you get the den." Sophie said quickly, she needed to get out of the small space before she worked up the courage to ask for another kiss. Bobby tilted his head and watched as she ran off. He smiled for a moment before making his way to the den. It was a satisfying feeling to have made a tough FBI agent flustered just by kissing her.

Sure enough there was another camera found in the vent of the den and one in the living room. The two spent almost an hour looking around for any other cameras but didn't find any. They didn't find any microphones either.

"I have a meeting with Harris on Monday morning. We should just leave the cameras where they are and leave the vents closed until then." Bobby nodded in agreement. The two wearily collapsed on the couch in the living room. Most of what they cleaned up last night was pulled apart again to check for any recording devices.

"The club tonight, does Eddie hang out there?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I should rough him up a little bit for messing up the house."

"Well it would be the proper thing to do. I could consult Emily Post."

"Did she write an undercover etiquette edition?"

"Should've. Probably would have been more interesting then table settings and what to say to a woman who is bold enough to wear pants."

"Would've had an interesting chapter on undercover marriage." Sophie laughed.

"So I thought that today I'd show you the rest of the city. There isn't that much but just so that you've got an idea."

"Sounds good."

"All right, I'm going to change. Cause I think it might be a little too cold for shorts."

"I should probably get changed too." They took turns using the bedroom to get dressed. When Bobby returned downstairs he found Sophie straightening up the living room, which they had dismantled earlier.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, lets go." Sophie was dressed in a worn pair of jeans and a black Ramones T-shirt. She layered with a sweater and jacket before leaving the house. Bobby too was wearing more relaxed clothes. Jeans and a black sweater, his leather jacket over top. During the night more snow had covered the ground and the temperature had fallen significantly.

"Can't wait for spring." Sophie smiled as she climbed into the drivers seat. They drove around for a little bit so that Bobby had a better idea of the area. The ride was quiet, they chatted on and off but for the most part nothing was said. About 20 minutes outside of town was a mall and a few restaurants where the pair ended up in search of lunch.

"Can I ask you a weird question?" Bobby asked, breaking the silence of their meal.

"Go for it."

"Were you a debutante growing up?"

"How on earth did you figure that out?" Sophie laughed, setting down her glass.

"Uh… well you expressed an extreme dislike for etiquette books this morning which means that you've had some experience with them. Also last night at dinner when you came back to the table you crossed your ankles in a way that seemed unconscious. Obviously it was something you were taught growing up. I'm willing to bet that right now you've got them crossed under the table."

Sophie stared blankly at Bobby for a moment before she began to laugh in disbelief. He was right about her ankles, crossed like a proper lady in a public place should.

"Yeah, I was a deb when I was growing up. My mom pushed for it and then my aunt continued it. Spent a ridiculous amount of time going to silly parties and having tea. Nice work detective."

"So you did the whole white dress, coming out party?"

"Oh yeah, a big white dress and a grand staircase to descend from." Bobby smiled, he enjoyed learning more about people. Sophie in particular was proving to be an interesting woman. "Bobby?" He had been staring.

"Sorry. Just thinking." Sophie smiled. She paused for a moment then looked around the restaurant before started to speak.

"So, you've been after _her_ for a while now?"

"Uh… yeah."

"We'll get her." Sophie said reassuringly. After all of his years in law enforcement and general detective work Bobby had learned to remain pessimistic until the jury said "guilty" and the cell door swung shut. Some how he believed her. They finished their lunch and decided to walk around the mall for a little bit.

"What's John's club like?" He asked as they walked.

"A lot of classic rock on the juke box and dollar pitchers of beer. They tend to be lax with checking IDs so a lot of under aged kids get in."

"Which works out well for John and Charles."

"Exactly. Nothing brings people running in this town like cheap beer and good music. If I was a teenage girl I'd be trying to get in too."

"What do they need security for then?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"We need to keep the under aged guys out." John said leaning against the door that leads into the back office.

"Under aged guys? What about the girls?" Bobby asked, playing stupid.

"Sophie explained the other business to you?"

"Ah. Scoping out the options."

"Exactly. Think you can handle it?"

"I think I might, yeah."

"Sunday through Wednesday night."

"I'll be here."

"Great." John looked over Bobby's shoulder and became distracted. "Charles is here. I'll be back in a moment."

Bobby turned and watched as John made is way through the semi-crowded bar towards Charles. It was then he noticed that Eddie had entered the bar and was sitting in one of the stools waiting for his drink.

"Eddie." Bobby said, sitting down next to him.

"Hey Robert. How're things going?"

"Fine thanks. Interesting thing happened last night though. Soph and I got home from dinner to find that our house had been trashed."

"Well that sucks." Eddie said keeping his face forward.

"Know anything about it?"

"Why would I?"

"Soph was telling me that the last time the house was trashed she found you there."

"Doesn't mean it was me this time. Your wife carries a gun by the way."

"I know. She's capable of using it too. I don't need the gun. I'm capable of inflicting damage without the help. Especially if I'm inflicting it on some pervert who rifled through my wife's personal items. Am I being clear here?"

"Perfectly."

"Good." Bobby clapped him hard on the back, causing Eddie to spill his drink.

"Robert." Sophie's voice came from behind him.

"Be there in a minute babe." Bobby said to her. "Have a nice night Eddie."

"You too." He said insincerely as Bobby stood and turned to Sophie.

"Charles wanted to have a drink with us." She said as his arm wrapped around her waist. "Said there's something he wants to talk about." They walked over to a corner table where John and Charles were sitting.

"I hear you're coming to work for John."

"You hear right."

"You understand the business going on?"

"Yeah. You've got nothing to worry about. I'll do what's asked of me."

"Good." A cell phone ringing cut off any further conversation. Everyone looked to check their own.

"Mine." Bobby said pulling out his cell and checked the caller ID. "I'm going take this outside." Sophie watched as he walked towards the doors. She could tell that something was up.

A few minutes later Sophie excused herself from the table and went to find out what was going on. She found Bobby leaning against the side of the building. He was staring blankly at the street, his phone clutched in one hand.

"Hey what's going on?" She asked, leaning next to him.

"Uh…" He glanced towards the door to make sure that no one was around. "It was Logan, he's working with my partner while I'm gone."

"Did something happen?"

"There was an accident with Eames. She's in the hospital right now, Logan's going to call back when he knows more. I have to go back."

"Bobby you can't right now."

"She's my partner. I have to be there."

"I know she's your partner and that you're worried, but you can't leave."

"She's…"

"You _can't_."

"You don't get it."

"I've been working undercover for a long time. I've got a better understanding of this then you could ever comprehend." Sophie sighed and reached into her pocket. "Here. I'll see you at the house."

With that she turned and started walking down the sidewalk. Her heeled boots clicking against the wet cement. Bobby watched as she walked away. His cell phone rang again.

"Logan?... Eames, what happened?"

-------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------

That's all for right now. I'll try and update some more soon. Maybe with a little less time between each post. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming because, quite frankly, reviewing makes you cool.


	10. Chapter 10

Sophie walked as quickly as she could across the ice covered sidewalks. She crossed her arms infront of her chest, wishing that she had worn her heavier jacket. Maybe she should've taken the car and let Bobby walk. Nah, she needed the fresh air. The club wasn't too far away from the house so it wasn't a long walk, but it suited her needs.

Almost 10 years spent working undercover. Sophie knew the sacrifices that sometimes had to be made. The events that had to be missed. Parties and weddings… funerals. It was unfair but it was the territory that came with the work. Sophie reached the house, unlocked the door and went in for the night. She had forgotten what it was like to come back to an empty dark house.

"It's only been 3 days." She chided herself while sitting down on the stairs to take off her boots. The walk in the snow had numbed her feet. Without realizing how Sophie ended up sitting in the same spot until the sound of an engine in the driveway could be heard. The kitchen door opened and heavy steps were coming her direction.

"Hi." Bobby said quietly, sitting down next to her on the steps.

"How's Eames?"

"She's going to be okay. They were chasing a suspect and his buddy got the jump on her, knocked her down a flight of stairs. Mild concussion."

"Glad she's okay."

Silence fell between them.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?"

"Don't know. Sat down to take off my boots and didn't feel like getting up."

"This has happened before? Being undercover and needing to be some where else."

"Yeah. A few times. My aunt who took care of me died and couldn't go to the funeral because I was in California helping on a case out there. Then there was David. We worked in the same office at the Bureau and he was my fiancé." She sighed. "He was shot and killed when they raided a warehouse."

Bobby was surprised, he wasn't expecting her to open up and tell him so much. He suddenly said a thanks to God that Eames was going to be okay, that he wasn't going to shoulder the guilt Sophie was feeling for not being with her loved ones when she wanted to be. Silently he put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry about what I said before." Sophie rested her head against him.

"You didn't know. It's fine."

"I'm sorry about your fiancé."

"It's been six years."

"Doesn't make it hurt less."

"No, but it gets easier after a while." Sophie took a deep breath then sat up. "How'd your chat with Eddie go?" Bobby laughed.

"I scared him a little bit. But he seemed pretty calm considering that I didn't mention the cameras."

"Probably thought he got away with it. I'm sure he'll break in again when they find out we closed the vents." They fell into silence again. "I'm going to go to bed." Wordlessly Sophie leaned over and pressed a kiss to Bobby's temple before standing to climb the stairs. She was just about to stand when she felt Bobby's hand take her own and pull her back towards him. Without fully comprehending how, Sophie found herself leaning in to kiss Bobby. It started off slow, a light brushing of lips, but quickly progressed into something that could be described as primal. Sophie felt Bobby's free hand move to cradle the back of her head, pulling her closer at the same time. Her arms snake around his neck.

"Sorry… sorry." Bobby managed when they pulled apart for air. "I shouldn't have presumed…"

"Bobby." It was all she said. He looked up at her to find that she was unbothered by his bold action. She sat back down next to him. The two seemed to make the mutual decision not to discuss what had transpired between them. Both chose to ignore how good it had felt to kiss so passionately.

"I'm going to make sure the doors are locked." Bobby said suddenly, standing up and walking back towards the kitchen. Sophie continued to sit there, rather stunned. Like earlier she listened as Bobby made his way from the kitchen to the front door, checking the lock before he turned to face her.

"Bed?" He asked. She just nodded. He held out his hand to her, helping her up from where she sat. Their hands remained joined while walking up to the bedroom. Sophie pulled away and disappeared into the bathroom while Bobby changed and climbed into bed. He was exhausted and, much like Sophie, conflicted on the feelings that had started to develop.

Sophie returned to the bedroom, dressed in her pajamas, and slid between the sheets next to Bobby. Without hesitation she rolled onto her side and curled up with Bobby, resting her head on his chest, he wrapped an arm around her back. This was how they fell asleep. Both knew without words that this was what they both needed tonight, close, unashamed human contact.

What they didn't know was that across town Charles had just settled into bed when the ringing of the doorbell pulled him from his attempts of sleep. He jerked the door open, shocked at who he found.

"You're early." Charles said, standing back so that the person could come in.

"I'm right on time." A gunshot echoed in the entranceway. Charles fell to the floor in a heap as blood began to seep through his pajamas and onto the hardwood floor. This was how he was found the next morning.

Short chapter but a bit of drama and suspense. As always thanks for the reviews, delightful and mind reading at the same time. Don't spoil surprises.


	11. Chapter 11

You know, a conclusion is a terrible thing to jump to, just a little something to keep in mind.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Around 4.30am the doorbell rang, waking Bobby and causing Sophie to stir. The option of ignoring it quickly disappeared as the ringing persisted. Someone was leaning heavily on the bell.

"What the hell?" Sophie muttered, sitting up though not opening her eyes.

"I'll get it." Bobby offered, his voice gruff, much like his current attitude. He stood, leaving Sophie sitting in the middle of the bed, still trying to gather her surroundings.

Bobby hurried down the stairs, as the ringing grew fiercer. Flinging the door open he found John on the front porch. He was dressed in his sweatpants, a t-shirt, his winter jacket, and snow boots.

"John, it's 4.30."

"I know… Charles was shot a couple of hours ago." Bobby moved aside so that John could come into the house. They sat down in the living room and were joined a few minutes later by a robe clad Sophie.

"What happened?" She asked blankly, sitting down on the couch next to Bobby.

"Charles is dead." That woke her up.

"What?""

"He answered the door at his house and was shot. Bled out for a couple of hours. By the time someone found him… he was dead."

"Any idea who shot him?" Bobby asked.

"Not a clue. The cops are working on it."

"He didn't have anything incriminating in the house did he?" Sophie asked.

"Everything was well hidden. We're going to meet down at the club later to discuss what needs to be done."

"Gregory and Fred know yet?"

"Not yet. I'm heading over there next. Just wanted to let you know." John seemed to still be in shock, he stood and quietly walked to the door.

"Hey, you okay?" Sophie asked, getting up and following him.

"Fine… just wasn't the phone call I was expecting tonight. I'll see you later."

Bobby remained seated on the couch. Sophie retook her seat, turning to face him while resting against the arm and swinging her legs up under her.

"What are you thinking?" She asked after a few moments past.

"Whoever shot him wanted him to suffer."

"Nicole?"

"When he talked about her the other night it sounded more like unrequited love or rejection on his part. She couldn't have been too angry with him that she would accept an offer, arrive and kill him." Sophie nodded in agreement with his assessment of the situation.

"Could be… Sophie?" Bobby turned to find that she had drifted back to sleep. He grinned to himself for a moment before standing up. He carefully scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to bed.

Once Sophie was back in bed Bobby found himself in the den. He was thinking, slowly pacing the length of the room. It wouldn't be beyond Nicole to kill someone without reason. Maybe there was a conflict between Nicole and Charles that wasn't public knowledge. It could be someone else. Nicole didn't seem partial to using guns. Knives and poison, meticulously planning was more her style. This crime was someone acting off the cusp. Besides, if this were a friend committing a crime the shot would've been more personal, like the heart or head. Stomach was someone hoping to inflict pain and from the sounds of it… things went as the killer hoped.

A few hours later the blare of the alarm clock woke Sophie. She pulled herself from the bed and shuffled into the bedroom. Glancing back into the bedroom she realized that Bobby hadn't come back to bed after John left. She couldn't remember how she had gotten back upstairs for that matter. Curiosity as to where Bobby went drew her into the hallway where she noticed the den light on.

Sure enough Bobby had zonked out on the couch. His long legs dangled over the edge while his arms crossed over his chest. Sophie held in a laugh as she took a seat on the edge of the coffee table near his head.

"Bobby." She called softly. "Hey Bobby." She rested a hand on his check then slid it up to smooth his hair. "Bobby."

Finally he began to stir; slowly blinking his eyes open to focus on her. It took a moment for him to remember why he was sleeping in the den.

"What time is it?"

"A little after 7. You didn't come back to bed last night."

"No… I was thinking… couldn't get back to sleep."

"Why don't you go grab a shower and I'll make some breakfast."

"Want to conserve water?" He asked. It sounded as though he was speaking more to himself then to her. Bobby wasn't fully awake yet and didn't realize that he had spoken aloud.

"Bobby did you just flirt with me?" He froze.

"I'm not sure. Did I?"

"You'll remember in a few minutes. We can conserve water another time." She smiled leaving the room. Bobby stood and stretched, silently happy that Sophie had been okay with them sharing the bed, there was no way he could've survived more then one night on the too small couch. As he made his way to the bathroom it hit him. Not only had he voiced his thoughts he had propositioned Sophie to take a shower with him.

Bobby joined her downstairs where they ate a quick breakfast before heading over to John's club. It wasn't until they parked that either one spoke.

"Maybe I should go in alone." Sophie suggested. "If it was Nicole she might be here."

Bobby hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Keep my meeting with Harris." Sophie gave him directions to their meeting place before climbing out of the driver's seat. He appeared next to her just as she landed in a pile of slush. "Fucking snow." She muttered. Bobby just grinned before leaning in and kissing her.

"Incase we're being watched." He whispered before pulling away.

"You're a smooth one Bobby Goren." She smiled before crossing the street and disappearing into the same restaurant they had visited the night before. Sure enough at the second floor window Bobby could see John. With a half wave Bobby pulled away.

Sophie climbed the spiral staircase to the second floor where the three men were waiting at the round table. Charles seat was empty. John moved away from the window and took his seat next to Sophie.

"Should we get started?" Gregory asked.

"We're still waiting on one more." John replied.

"Where's that husband of yours?" Fred asked Sophie.

"Running some errands, I figured he didn't need to be here." Gregory scoffed.

"_She_ decided." Fred inserted. Sophie just rolled her eyes before turning to John.

"Who're we waiting for?" Like she didn't know.

"Miss Wallace arrived in town this morning."

"You can just call me Nicole." Came a voice from the stairs. The group turned to see the skinny Australian woman walking towards the table. She looked like her picture with the exception of blonde hair.

"Nice to put a face to the name." John said, standing to shake hands. "This is Gregory and Fred."

"Pleasure." She said, shaking their hands.

"And this is Sophie Duncan."

"Another woman, lovely." Nicole smiled, shaking Sophie's hand. "I was worried that it would be another boy's club."

"Don't worry, there's more then enough testosterone to go around." John joked retaking his seat.

"Yeah, my husband is just thrilled about that." Sophie smirked.

"Interesting line of work for a married woman." Nicole commented, taking Charles' empty seat.

"Robert was a resident of the state pen up until a few days ago." John supplied.

"You must be glad to have him home."

"Very." Sophie smiled at Nicole.

"Well, let's get to business shall we? Charles passing is unfortunate but I think he filled me in enough that I could offer some help to keep things on track."

"You mean you're taking over?" Gregory remarked bluntly.

"That's right." Nicole smiled innocently. "I'm taking over."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

I know, no surprise that Nicole has finally made an appearance. Should be some interesting turns ahead. I'll try an update soon. As always thanks for the reviews.


	12. Chapter 12

Sophie's meeting place with Harris was a few miles out of town. A diner on the side of the main highway. When Bobby arrived the place was mostly empty. A bored waitress leaned against the counter while an impatient Harris occupied a booth towards the back of the room.

"Robert, what are you doing here?"

"Sophie had something come up. Charles is dead."

"I know. Miss Wallace arrived last night."

"I'm not entirely convinced that Nicole was the one to shoot Charles." Harris looked surprised as Bobby began to explain his speculation.

"Well, there will be plenty of time to question her. We're planning on tomorrow night to raid the club. Tuesday is usually the busy night there, if we wait any longer we'll risk more girls disappearing." Harris slid a newspaper across the table. "All the information you'll need is in there."

"Arts and Leisure?"

"Sports. Be sure to stay out of Nicole's sight. Last thing we need is to blow this case." With that Harris put a five down on the table and left the booth. Bobby waited a few minutes then got up to leave. It was a quick drive back to main-street he had just slowed to the curb when Sophie appeared, quickly climbing into the car.

"Is everything…"

"Drive." She cut him off before he could finish his question. Bobby put the car into drive and pulled back into the street. "I said that I was late for an open house. Nicole showed up and informed us that she would be taking over."

"Harris anticipated as much. You're sitting on the plans for tomorrow night's raid."

"Thought the seat felt higher." Sophie arched up for a moment then reached a hand under to grab the newspaper. "Let's see what's in sports today."

"How's it going down?"

"We give the signal, they come in. I've got the wires in the safe at home."

Bobby just nodded. They both knew that if the raid went well then the case would be closed. He would return to Major Case and Sophie would get a new assignment. There was an undeniable connection between them but that guaranteed nothing. When they returned to the house Bobby followed Sophie to the den where she unlocked the vault. With the small box in hand, Sophie perched herself on the edge of the desk.

"I've got two wires and a role of tape to secure them. Harris is asking that we catch Nicole in the act so we'll be able to hold her."

"I'll be out front at the door so we need to be sure that I don't run into Nicole."

"I can go in first, make sure that she's inside." Bobby just nodded and moved closer to where Sophie sat.

"How'd the meeting go today?" He took another step.

"Thrilling." Sophie replied sarcastically. "Nicole made an entrance. John introduced everyone, she was glad that I was there. Something about a _boys club_."

"I'm sure that went over well." Bobby moved again. He was only two steps away from standing between her legs.

"Oh yeah. John was quick to vouch for the testosterone of the group. I swear to God, Fred and Greg looked like they were about to have strokes when Nicole said she was taking over."

"Well, they won't have to deal with her long."

"You forgot to take a step."

"Huh?"

"Each time you've said something you moved closer, you forgot to take a step just now."

"Guess I'll have to take two, make up for the one I skipped." Bobby wore an amused expression as he closed the open space between them. His lips quickly descended on hers. Unlike the other kisses they had shared this one didn't need to progress in intensity, it started that way. His lips pressed hard against hers, catching Sophie by surprise at first.

Bobby's hands found their way to her lower back, pulling her closer. However this action was not entirely thought through and resulted in Sophie falling off the desk, bringing Bobby to the floor with her.

"Sorry." Bobby apologized, pulling back so that he wasn't lying on top of her.

'That's all right." Sophie smiled, linking her arms around his shoulders and pulling him back down.

"I'm too heavy." He managed between kisses.

"You're fine Bobby. Really, not crushing me at all." She reassured him. With a sly grin Bobby lowered his head and kissed her neck.

"You're a very different kind of a woman Soph."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one." He smiled as he undid a button on her blouse so that more skin was exposed for him to explore.

**DING-DONG**

Both froze. The thought being that if they stayed still whoever rung the doorbell would go away. It was an irrational thought but at the moment blood flow was directed elsewhere. Again the bell rang.

"I'll get it." Sophie sighed as they sat up. "You might need a few minutes." She smirked walking out the door.

"Hurry back." He called after her.

"Please have gone away." Sophie mumbled to herself as she hurried to the front door. No such luck. On the front porch stood Nicole, the skank with the world's worst timing.

"Sophie, hi."

"Nicole… what are you doing here?"

"Warm greeting."

"Sorry… hi."

"I was wondering if I could come in. Maybe have a bit of chat. You've been the only woman with these guys longer then I have." Nicole peered into the house. Sophie stood unmoved blocking the front door.

"That would be great… however timing is a little off."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've interrupted something?"

"Robert only just got out a few days ago, we're making up for lost time."

"Robert?"

"Yeah. Robert Duncan."

"You've been married long?"

"11 years now."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." Nicole paused for a moment, looking at Sophie closely. "Must be nice."

"What?"

"Look at you. Eyes glowing and what have you. You're in love."

"Well it helps in marriage." Sophie smiled.

"I'll see you later." With a nod Nicole left.

"That was bizarre." Sophie called to Bobby as she rushed back up the stairs.

"Who was it?" She found him still in the den, looking through the window that faced the back yard.

"Nicole. She was hoping to have a chat."

"How'd you get rid of her?"

"Told her that the timing was off and that we were busy at the moment." Sophie paused for a moment. "It was a bit odd though. She seemed hesitant to leave."

"Maybe she was hoping to get us both down stairs." Bobby said, moving away from the window.

"That was her dastardly plan?"

"Eddie was waiting in the backyard. Probably to get back up here and open the vents."

"They must've finally noticed."

"Too bad they didn't get them back open sooner." Bobby said as he approached Sophie.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Missing the action." He said simply before kissing her hard. They stumbled backwards a few steps, Sophie found herself being pressed up against the doorframe.

"Bobby… Bobby." She gasped trying to halt their actions for a moment.

"Yeah?" He pulled back slightly but his hands remained on her hips.

"We… we need to stop now before…" Bobby made something of an unhappy groan before nodding in agreement.

"I know… I…" Sophie launching herself back into their embrace cut him off mid-sentence. "I'm…" She kissed him between words. "Going… to go… take a very cold shower." She nodded as they disentangled once more. Bobby quickly made his way to the bathroom.

"I'm going to go sit in a corner." Sophie said to no one in particular. She grabbed the file that Harris had hid in the newspaper. It was going to be a long… long night.

-------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------

That's all for this chapter. We're slowly reaching a climax… in the plot…

Reviews, as always, are appreciated and well received.

Deliriousdance, laughed out loud when I read your review. Seriously never been so amused at the word skank.


	13. Chapter 13

Bobby emerged from the bathroom after standing under an icy blast of water for a few minutes. This action seemed fruitless however when he returned to find Sophie, lying on her stomach, going over the plans for Tuesday night. She had changed into her pajamas and wore her robe over top; Bobby could see the outline of her shorts through the thin fabric. Before he could even consider retreating into the bathroom Sophie turned and saw him.

"Oh, hey. So I went over this a little more. When I say _transaction_ everybody moves in."

"_Transaction_?" Bobby asked lying down next to her only on his back.

"As in 'oh, didn't realize you were in the middle of a transaction' or something to that effect."

"Are we going to talk about what almost happened?"

"We can. Although, I thought it was pretty clear." Sophie rolled onto her side so that she could look at Bobby without straining her neck. "We had to stop."

"I know."

"Until we get to know each other a little better."

"I agree, maybe when we get back to the city we could go on a real date."

"I'd like that."

"We should… uh…" Bobby froze for a minute, forcing himself not to lean in and kiss her. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah." Sophie too was fighting the urge to close the space between them.

Sleep had never been so elusive. Both were painfully aware of the body lying next to them. Sophie finally rolled onto her side so that she was facing away from Bobby. Last thing they needed was to blow the case because of a lack of sleep. That would be fun to explain to Harris.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The next evening was spent in preparation. While Bobby was getting changed Sophie appeared in the bedroom with the wires and tape.

"This is gonna be a bitch to remove." Sophie speculated as Bobby held the wire in place on his bare chest. "Tape and hair, a painful combination."

"Maybe use the tape sparingly." He suggested.

"There, that seems pretty secure. Put your shirt on, let me make sure I can't see it."

Bobby did as Sophie instructed and put on a loose black t-shirt.

"I'm going to have my jacket on too."

"Should be fine." She picked up the second wire and handed it to him. "My turn." She smiled before taking off her t-shirt. Bobby stood slack-jawed for a minute, his eyes studying her red lace bra.

"Where?"

"About here." She touched the valley between her breasts. "My shirt's a low cut in the front."

Bobby nodded, finally regaining his composure. Gently he held the wire to her warm skin. With his free hand he placed Sophie's fingers in the necessary places so he could apply the tape.

"Shame that this is the first time I get to see you topless."

"We'll see how our date goes. Maybe you'll get a second turn." Sophie grinned suggestively.

"You're all set." He said, standing back to admire his work. Sophie reached back to grab her shirt off the bed.

"Can you see it?"

"Not even if you look hard."

"Good. You've got your gun and what not?"

"Yup." Bobby pulled his pant leg up to reveal an ankle holster. He also had a holster on the back of his belt so that it remained out of sight.

Sophie laughed, lifting her own pant leg. She too wore an ankle holster. Her main gun was a small handgun that she had slid in the back of her jeans.

"His and Her's." Bobby commented.

"We should get going."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The club was opened, not too many people were outside yet and Nicole was nowhere in sight. Bobby pulled the car to a stop near the end of the block so that he could see the door from the driver's seat.

"I'll send you a text if she's already in there."

"Be careful."

"You too." Sophie climbed out of the car and began her walk down to the club. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement in a dark doorway. After a moment she realized it was Harris. With a small nod she continued down the sidewalk.

She pulled the heavy door open and was immediately hit with a blast of warm air. The music was loud, there was already a crowd taking up tables and dancing. Off to the corner she saw John nursing a scotch while chatting uncomfortably with Nicole. Sophie made her way towards them, keeping on hand low so they couldn't see that she was holding her cell phone.

_She's in._

"Sophie, I was wondering when you would get here." John said in a welcoming voice. "Robert outside?"

"Yeah."

"Great. I'm going to go have a word while you two get to know each other." Before Sophie or Nicole could say anything John hurried off.

"Politeness isn't really a virtue around here, is it?"" Nicole joked.

"Too cold to be polite." Sophie replied with a laugh.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Robert hi."

"Hi John."

"Cold night huh?"

"Haven't seen any other kind yet." John laughed. He paused for a moment to pull out his vibrating cell phone.

"Damn thing. Beeps and chirps at me, I have no idea what it wants." The clicked and beeped before he sighed and shoved it back in his pocket. "I give up with this."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"So have you lived in town long?" Nicole asked.

"Not that long, a couple of months."

"Is that you?" Nicole asked over the loud music.

"I think it might be yours."

The search for the ringing cell phone began.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

I'm going to try and get the next chapter up super quick. Reviews are awesome and ridiculously appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

Deliriousdancer said it best: The trap is about to close but who will be caught?

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … …

"These things are awful. Pictures never come in clearly." Nicole shrugged trying to make out the pixilated image. Sophie just nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go grab a club soda, you want anything?"

"No thanks, John and I were going to start some business soon."

It was about 15 minutes before Sophie spotted Nicole and John leading some teenage girl into the back office.

"They're making a move." Sophie said subtly.

"Move in." Harris' voice replied. Sophie climbed off her bar stool and made her way to the door she had been watching. She flung the door opened to find Nicole and a drugged girl sitting on the couch.

"Sorry, didn't realize you were in the middle of a transaction." Sophie apologized and tried to back out of the room. Suddenly the door behind her slammed shut. She turned to find John standing there with a gun pointed at her.

"You're going to feel increasingly sorry that you walked in here Agent Rooks."

"I'm willing to bet you're gonna feel worse." Came Bobby's voice from the door that led to the alley. He had his gun pulled and aimed on John. "Place is surrounded."

"Bobby, long time." Nicole smirked.

"Nicole." He replied curtly. "Put the gun down John."

"How did you know?" Sophie asked, her mind was still reeling from being addressed by her real name.

"I told him." Harris' remorseful tone announced as he came through the door behind Sophie, his own gun in hand. Sophie looked as though she had been slapped across the face.

"Harris?" She weakly asked.

"Not everything it what you think Soph." As he spoke Harris trained his gun onto… John.

"What're you doing?" John demanded.

"Six years ago you pulled a gun on a federal agent during a raid."

"So?"

"That was Sophie's fiancé and my **son**." Harris said, cocking his gun with a shaking hand. "You shot him without a second thought. I intend to do the same."

"Don't do it Harris." Bobby advised calmly. "We can put him away for a long time. He killed Charles and has been conspiring with Nicole."

John tuned to Bobby with a surprised look on his face.

"How'd you figure that?"

"The night Charles was shot and you came over to the house... there were a few specks of blood on your pants. You could've only gotten those stains from back splatter. You killed him because Nicole wanted to take over. And then the other day when Sophie was telling me about the meeting, you introduce everyone except yourself, there was no need to introduce yourself to someone you already knew."

"I told you he'd have it figured out." Nicole chided from her place on the couch. No one seemed to notice that while they'd been talking Bobby began moving closer to John. When he was close enough Bobby spoke again, lowering his gun.

"Are you kidding me? The safety's on." He sighed exasperatedly.

"Like I'm gonna fall for that."

"Would I lower my gun if your safety wasn't on? You've got a gun on Sophie."

John thought about this for a moment before pulling his gun back to inspect it. Bobby took the opportunity and knocked him to the ground. As this happened Nicole took the chance to run out the door that Bobby had been blocking. Sophie acted quickly, drawing her gun from behind her and chased Nicole.

"Cuffs?" Bobby called to Harris.

"I'll do that, go help Sophie. She went after Nicole."

Bobby got up as fast as he could and ran out the back door. Just as he made it to the alleyway a gunshot rang out followed by a thud.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … …

Hmm…


	15. Chapter 15

"Sophie?" Bobby called as he moved down the alley. The first time she didn't answer Bobby was worried. When she did answer him, her voice seemed to be coming from the ground.

"Might want to call her an ambulance." Nicole's voice echoed through the dark alley. "Or you could chase me. It's really up to you."

Bobby knelt down next to Sophie to try and assess where her injuries were. There was blood coming from somewhere…

"Where'd she get you?" Bobby asked.

"Abdomen… I think." Sure enough that was where the blood was seeping. Her jeans were soaked red, she was beginning to black out. Without hesitation Bobby pulled out his phone and dial 9-1-1.

"How touching. I think you might have feelings for this woman Bobby. You'd rather save her life then catch me." With that taunting note the only other sound was the heels of her shoes as she ran to the street. She was gone… if help didn't get there soon Sophie would be gone too.

"Sophie?" Bobby was trying to keep her conscious while applying pressure to her wound. The next few minutes seemed like they were happening in slow motion. The paramedics arrived and loaded her into the truck. Harris and Bobby drove in silence to the hospital. Upon arrival a doctor greeted them.

"You're here about the agent that was shot?"

"Yes, how is she?" Harris asked.

"She's in emergency surgery. There was no exit wound so we're working on removing the bullet and stopping the bleeding. Does Miss…"

"Rooks." Harris supplied.

"Does Miss Rooks have any family we can contact?"

"No. I'm her emergency contact."

"You've got power of attorney?"

"Yes."

"All right. We might need to make a decision later, depending on how the surgery goes." Harris just nodded in understanding. The two men were left in an empty waiting room.

"You okay?"

Bobby just nodded. He was in shock. The urge to be angry about loosing Nicole was battling with his concern for Sophie.

"Maybe you should find a restroom."

He turned to Harris in confusion before looking down at himself. Blood covered his hands and his shirt.

"I'll be back in a few." Bobby walked down a few halls, finally locating the men's room. After vigorous scrubbing Sophie's blood began to rinse from his hands. Turning off the faucet, he dried his hands then looked in the mirror. He was tired and worried and irrationally angry.

Without thinking his fist made painful contact with the tile wall. He hit it again and again, feeling numb to the pain or the fact that his own blood now covered his knuckles.

"Bobby, the doctor…" Harris stopped short when he caught sight of the detective standing infront of him. Very calmly he just said, "Lets find a nurse to take a look at that."

Harris had been an agent for over 20 years, this wasn't the first time he had seen shock take the better of an otherwise tough detective. He led Bobby to the front desk where he asked for a nurse to fix up the cuts that covered Bobby's bloodied knuckles.

"What were you going to say before, when you came into the bathroom?"

"Uh, the doctor said that they're going to perform an emergency hysterectomy. The bullet cause a lot of damage… he used a lot of technical terms but basically the damage was too severe to repair. As soon as she's stable they're going to transfer her back to New York… I know you're pissed about loosing Nicole but we did get John and the entire ring. A lot of young girls are safe tonight because of you and Soph."

"What the hell happened in there? You blew her cover?"

"Yes. I made a decision. That man killed my son."

"He could've killed Sophie just as easily."

"Excuse me." Came a voice from the doorway, it was the doctor. "The chopper's here to transport Miss Rooks, someone should go with her."

"You go." Harris said, "I've got things to wrap up here." Bobby just nodded and followed the doctor out of the waiting room. Once he was gone Harris pulled out his cell phone. "Captain Danny Ross please."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … … …

That's all for tonight, didn't want to leave the gunshot hanging.


	16. Chapter 16

Bobby had a profound dislike for hospitals. Aside from the constant scent of antiseptic, hospitals usually meant waiting. Lots of waiting. It had been almost two hours since Sophie was shot, an hour since he sat down in the empty waiting room. It was close to 1 a.m. now. He had stretched out on one of the small chairs, his legs resting on a coffee table.

A hand on his shoulder startled him. Looking up Bobby was surprised and happy to see his partner standing behind him, two cups of coffee in hand.

"Hi Bobby."

"Eames… hi." He stood up and hugged her. "How did you…?"

"Agent Harris called Ross, told him what happened. You okay?" Eames asked sitting down in the empty chair next to him.

"Yeah. Just waiting… she's been in surgery for an hour now… Nicole got away."

"I heard… Bobby what happened to your hand?" Eames questioned, noticing the fresh bandages on his left hand.

"Physical altercation with a wall."

"I'd hate to see the wall." Despite himself Bobby smiled.

"How are you? How's your…" He gestured to the back of her head.

"Fine, I'll be back to work in a few days." She smiled.

"I really like her." He said after a moment of silence had past. Eames remained silent, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Detective Goren?" Bobby turned to see a nurse standing behind them.

"Yes." He answered quickly, standing up.

"Could you come with me please?" She asked softly. Bobby nodded stiffly, exchanging a look with Eames before following the nurse. "Doctor Miller asked me to come find you."

"How's Sophie doing?"

"She's in and out of consciousness right now. The surgery went well. We removed the bullet, but there was quite a bit of damage and performed a hysterectomy."

"Does she know yet?"

"Yes." The nurse answered in a careful tone as they stopped infront of a door. "You can sit with her for a while if you'd like, someone will be in to give her something to help her sleep."

Bobby nodded his thanks to the nurse before entering the room. Sophie was lying still in her hospital bed, her gaze drawn to the window. She didn't turn when he took a seat next to her bed.

"How'd it go?" She asked quietly.

"John, Gregory and Fred have been arrested… Nicole got away." Sophie nodded, still not looking away from the window.

"They told you what… what they needed to do?"

"Yeah… I'm so sorry that happened Soph." Bobby said, his hand covering hers. Finally causing her to turning to look at him. Her eyes were tired, just like his; neither of them had expected the night to go this way.

"It's alright." She replied in a detached tone. "I never really wanted kids anyway… it's fine…" She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. Bobby remained silent; he really didn't know what to say. At the moment it didn't seem to matter, all that mattered was that he was there with her. "What time is it?"

"About 1.30, the nurse said that they would be in to give you something that will help you sleep."

"Good, whatever they gave me before is starting to wear off." Sophie sighed. "Thanks for hanging around."

"No where else I would be." The nurse entered the room, walking over to Sophie's bed and injecting the sleeping aid into her IV.

"This will help you sleep." The nurse smiled reassuringly before leaving the room again.

"Hey… will you stick around until I nod off?" Sophie asked softly, looking up at him.

"Sure."

"Wow…" She was having trouble holding her head up. "That stuff works fast."

"I'll be by to see you in the morning okay?" Bobby said, still holding her hand.

"Okay… I'm going to miss sleeping with you tonight." She said as her eyes drooped shut.

"Me too." He replied softly. After a few minutes, when Bobby was sure that she was asleep, he got up and went back to the waiting room where Eames was still sitting.

"Hey, how is she?"

"Asleep. She'll be okay… the surgery went well."

"Good. Come on Bobby, I'll give you a ride home." The partners left the hospital. Bobby to return to apartment he hadn't stepped foot in for the past couple of days.

------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------------------

The next morning Bobby arrived at the hospital early. The same nurse was still there and smiled kindly at him as he passed the front desk. The sun lit Sophie's room, the blinds had been opened and she was sitting up eating breakfast.

"Morning." Bobby smiled, sitting down in the chair next to his bed.

"Morning." She replied.

"How're you feeling?"

"A little less like I've been shot." She smiled.

"That's good." Bobby sat down next to her bed. "You're up early."

"Harris stopped by around the same time my drugs from last night kicked out. Otherwise I'd still be asleep."

"How're things with Harris?"

"Forced. I'm furious with him and at the same time I know why he did it."

"You never mentioned that he was your fiancé's father."

"I know… I don't talk about it very much." Bobby just nodded. "What's in the bag?"

"Oh…" He remembered the plastic shopping bag he had brought along. "Well, I figured that you were going to be in here for a few days, maybe you'd want some entertainment." Sophie smiled.

"Thanks Bobby."

"No problem. Okay, so we've got books. I grabbed a classic: Walden and then Eames suggested a book that normal people would like, so I got Lipstick Jungle."

"Please tell me that you didn't have this sitting around your apartment. Otherwise any future date might have to be cancelled."

"I did not have it." Bobby laughed. "Also I didn't know if you had a preference so sudoku and crossword puzzles."

"You thought of everything." She smiled.

"So, we're still on for that date when you're feeling up to it?"

"You bet. Come here." She motioned for him to move closer. He stood and leaned down towards her. Sophie kissed him softly for a moment before pulling back. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me even though it mean letting Nicole get away."

"It was an easy choice." He kissed her again then retook his seat.

"Any good at crossword puzzles?"

"I can hold my own."

"Hand me a pen."

------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------------------

That's all for right now. Reviews are awesome. Another chapter soon and I've got an idea for a follow up.


	17. Chapter 17

The next few days were a bit of a jumble. Bobby got back to work at Major Case with Eames while Sophie remained in the hospital healing from her surgery. Bobby had taken to visiting her everyday after work. Each day she seemed in better spirits, sitting up more and more.

"Hey that." Sophie greeted him when he came into her room.

"Hi, you're looking better." Bobby smiled taking the seat next to her, which had become custom.

"Thanks, I'm feeling better. In fact what are you up to tomorrow?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of, why?"

"I'm free of this paper gown corridor tomorrow."

"Is that right? Do you need help getting home?"

"That was going to be my next question."

"I'd be more then happy to help you get home, what time?"

"Around 9."

"I'll be here."

"With bells on?" She teased.

"If you'd like." He laughed. The door opening interrupted their moment of amusement.

"Soph, you're up." Harris smiled in surprise.

"Yup." She replied rather tepidly.

"Goren." Harris nodded obligatorily towards Bobby who did the same. "Would you mind if I spoke to Sophie for a moment? Alone?"

Bobby looked back to Sophie who just nodded to let him know that it was all right. He stood hesitantly and before leaving the room. Bobby hovered outside the room for few minutes then grudgingly walked down the hallway. He was gone for about 10 minutes before returning to the room. Approaching the door he saw Harris leaving in a hurry, headed for the other direction. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Bobby's stomach as he rushed inside. The bed was empty.

"Bobby?" He heard Sophie weakly manage. On the other side of the bed he found her lying on the floor. Fresh blood stained the front of her hospital gown. "I think Harris might be the one working with Nicole."

"What happened?" He asked, gently lifting her back into the bed then pressing the call button for a nurse.

"I told him that I couldn't do undercover anymore, that I couldn't work for someone that I can't trust. He laughed and said…"

_"You have no idea." Harris laughed, moving closer to the bed. "I told her that if anyone got shot it should be John or Goren."_

_"HER? You've been…?"_

_"That's right. She was able to offer a little more then the Feds were." Harris paused for a minute. "You were almost my daughter, I owe it to David to offer you the same opportunity."_

_"I don't want anything from you. Where ever David is, he's ashamed of what you've done."_

_"That's what I thought you'd say. Miss High and Mighty." His hand landed on her bandaged abdomen. "Nicole got you good didn't she?"_

_Sophie held back a scream as his hand applied more pressure to the sore and stitched area. She felt the stitches begin to break, still she kept quiet._

_"That's it. Never let them hear you scream." Her mind was reeling, while inflicting pain he carried on a casual conversation. "You know that Goren is pretty clever, everyone was surprised when you two found the cameras."_

_"You're the one who let Eddie in?" She asked through clenched teeth._

_"I knew you would noticed that the doors hadn't been broken. Got him in a couple of times. While you were at the meeting and Goren was with me. He got those vents open again, all except the bedroom. A real shame for us considering what happened in the den. You two make a cute couple._

_"Gee thanks." Sophie snarked._

_"Of course I am rather disappointed in you. Mixing business and pleasure? That's not like you."_

_"That seems to be the sentiment of the day, doesn't it?"_

_"Good luck with that Goren character, if he's as insane as everyone says he is, you'll need it." _

_"Why not hang around, tell him yourself?"_

_"Handcuffs don't really agree with me. Take care kiddo." He muttered before giving her a hard shove for no particular reason._ _Sophie landed on the floor with a 'thud.' She listened as the door opened and closed. A few seconds passed before it opened again…_

"Son of a bitch was working with her the whole time." Sophie's eyes were clouded with tears, a mixture of pain and enormous betrayal. "Bobby." She cried softly.

The nurse from the front desk suddenly ran in. She carefully pulled back the bandage. For the first time Bobby caught sight of her wound. The stitches had broken, causing some light bleeding, over the entire area Bobby could make out a bruising handprint. He was filled with a surge of anger, Harris had done this purely to hurt her more.

"Sir, you need to wait outside." The nurse said as she moved to the phone to page a doctor.

"No, no. Please let him stay." Sophie asked, her hand clutched Bobby's.

"Fine, but stay out of the way." Bobby nodded in understanding, he stayed by Sophie as a doctor and another nurse came in to repair her stitches. When they finished Bobby took the chair he had occupied earlier.

"I'm going to hang around here tonight." Bobby said, leaning back in his seat. Sophie just nodded. Normally she would've told him that there was no need, she would be fine. Tonight she wasn't going to argue with him, the presence next to her was comforting.

"Uh… could you hand me my cell please, it's in the table drawer there."

"I thought you weren't supposed to have these in the hospital." Bobby commented handing her the phone.

"I won't tell if you don't." She smiled weakly and hit a speed dial. "Assistant Director Blanks please." Pause. "Agent Sophie Rooks, 89402… Thanks."

Bobby listened as she informed one of her superiors about Harris and the events of the last hour. She finished her call and tossed the phone down on the bed. They sat quietly for a few minutes.

"So… the vents were open that night in the den." Bobby said conversationally.

"Yup… they caught that graceful landing onto the floor."

"Will you get in trouble at work if they find out?"

"Probably not. Harris hadn't been in contact for a while, so they most likely won't find out."

"You know this could possibly be the longest first date I've ever had."

Sophie laughed as carefully as she could, the movement hurt.

"You could say that. Maybe we'll have a better second date."

"I'll make sure of it." Bobby smiled reassuringly. It wasn't long before Sophie drifted off. The doctor had given her something for the pain that had a draining effect.

Bobby too began to nod off until his own cell phone began to vibrate.

NEW TEXT MSG:

See you around Bobby,

Nicole.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------

That's all for right now. So I was actually going to end Sheer Luck here and then start a separate follow up. But instead I'm just going to keep it going as one whole story. And that's mainly because I don't want to think up a second title. So coming up we have:

Bobby and Sophie… maybe finally getting it on.

Characters we all know from SVU.

A dead body or two? Hmm…


	18. Chapter 18

Anyone else have a moment of shock when D'Onofrio popped up on SNL? Pretty sure my heart stopped from surprise. "Look at my face. Do I look like I'm laughing?" I think he would make an entertaining difference to the debates.

Sophie never thought she'd be so happy to return to her small-ish apartment. After spending the night at the hospital with her Bobby brought her home. It was a cozy apartment. The living room and kitchen were connected while a small hallway led to her bedroom and the bathroom. Bobby followed her through to the bedroom where she dropped the bag in her hand and flopped onto the bed.

"Happy to be home?"

"Very." Sophie moved over so that Bobby could lie down next to her on the comforter. "I'll be happy when I can sleep on my stomach again."

"When do you go back to work?"

"Another week or so. I've put in a request to work as a field agent here in the city."

"No more undercover work?" Bobby sounded almost hopeful. He wanted to get to know her better and that would be difficult if she had to disappear for long periods of time with no outside contact.

"No more undercover. I've spent too much time living someone else's life… what've I got to show for it? My mentor betrayed me… I'm going to be scarred for the rest of my life…"

"Hey, that scar changes nothing. You're still the woman you were before it." Bobby said in a relaxed, reassuring tone. There was no reply. Bobby glanced over to find tears were streaming down her face. So much had happened in the past two weeks. Her mentor was gone, her chance to ever have kids was also gone… the only thing that was there was… Bobby. He was lying next to her, comforting her.

She sobbed for the next few minutes, hoping that the empty feeling inside would soon dissolve. Bobby turned onto his side and put his arms around her. When the crying subsided the sheer drain of the last couple of days took their toll and Sophie fell sound asleep. Most of the sleep she had gotten in the hospital was drug induced.

It felt like an hour later when Sophie opened her eyes. It had been more then an hour, the sky had become dark and Bobby was missing from the bedroom. He had pulled the comforter over her.

"Hey, you're up." Bobby smiled from the doorway.

"What time is it?" Sophie rubbed her eyes as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed.

"About 6.30, you were asleep for about 4 hours… hungry?"

"Starved."

"Come on." He said, standing up and holding out his hand to her.

"I don't have any food here." She warned, taking his hand and letting him lead her into the living room. On the dining table was a smorgasbord of Chinese take out. The basketball game was on, the sound turned down low. The two sat down to eat.

The meal was rather quiet. Sophie was embarrassed by her earlier display of emotion and Bobby didn't want to say something that would upset her further.

"Thanks for hanging around."

"No problem." They continued to eat in relative silence, once finishing the decision was made to leave the dishes for later and crash on the sofa for a little bit. Bobby leaned against the arm and propped his feet up on the coffee table and Sophie curled up next to him, resting her on his beneath his shoulder. They didn't even bother deciding what to watch because within a few minutes both had dozed off.

Sophie woke up hours later; the rebroadcast of the news had just started, letting her know that it was close to 2 in the morning. She glanced up, finding that Bobby was still peacefully out of it.

"Bobby…" She shook him lightly. "Bobby."

"Mmm?" He stirred.

"Come on, you're going to feel like hell in the morning if you spend the night on the couch."

"Mm-k." He seemed to be on autopilot as she led him to the bedroom. It was only an hour or so before a cell phone broke the silence of the apartment. That woke Bobby up.

"Goren." He answered. "I'll be there in a few."

Sophie watched as he closed the phone and look around to make sure he had his things.

"I've gotta go."

"Case?"

"Yeah. I'll see you later?"

"You bet." She got up and followed him to the door. Bobby leaned down and kissed her before slipping out the door. She locked it behind him then leaned against the wall and gently hit her head against it. "I've got it bad." Sophie sighed, well she was awake now. Time to do the dishes.

That's it for right now. Kind of a shorter chapter, sorry about that. Studying for mid-terms has been all consuming but I wanted to get something up. No worries though, a lot more will be coming soon.


	19. Chapter 19

George Huang is from SVU and pretty soon we'll be seeing a few more from SVU. Shocking, as it may seem, I don't own them either. Just a friendly reminder. I do however own Sophie… got to say that I'd rather own Bobby Goren but what can you do?

About a week and a half after that night Sophie returned to the FBI, working on desk duty only. Physically she was mostly healed; emotionally… the men in charge were going to wait for a psych evaluation before replacing the gun she lost. That night Nicole not only shot her but did it with her own weapon. The company shrink was going to have an interesting session with Sophie for sure.

Her appointment was after lunch, which was making Sophie uncharacteristically nervous. The morning dragged on until she found herself waiting, 10 minutes early. Currently the only thing keeping her from either crying or vomiting was the fact that tonight would be her first official date with Bobby. An actual date more then just dinner and TV at one of their apartments.

"Agent Rooks?" Sophie looked up to see George Huang standing in the doorway of his office. "Come in please."

The office was rather FBI issued. Dull walls that only displayed framed diplomas, a lone plant near the window, and a surprisingly messy desk. George took his seat behind the aforementioned desk while Sophie took a seat infront of it.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Why don't we start with physically?"

"Fine. I'm bandage free and mostly healed."

"Mentally? How has your first week back been?"

"Things are all right. I guess. Been taking care of past paperwork. This is probably the most time I've spent at my desk."

"You've been working undercover for a while now."

"Yeah, about 13 years. I've been an agent for 15."

"How long were you on this last job?"

"Almost two months."

"Is that a common amount of time?"

"Yes."

"This case didn't end as successfully as others have."

"No."

"Tell me what happened."

"Well… Detective Goren from Major Case was brought in, he had past experience with one of the criminals we were after."

"Nicole Wallace?"

"That's the one."

"Whose idea was it to bring Detective Goren in?"

"Harris… should've noticed something then." Sophie mumbled.

"Why do you say that?"

"Harris didn't like bringing outside law enforcement in our cases. He was always annoyed at the idea of sharing work."

"Agent Harris ran the case?"

"Yes… at some point he became acquainted with Nicole… he blew my cover and Detective Goren's."

"How'd that make you feel?"

"Incredibly pissed off. My mentor, at one point my future father-in-law… he betrayed me without a second thought. It was that easy to give me up."

George paused for a moment.

"You were engaged to his son?"

"David… he was an agent here…"

"The engagement didn't last?"

"He was killed in the line, during a warehouse raid. The man who shot him was involved in this last undercover job. I thought that that was why Harris gave up my cover, to get John. Nicole had tried to make a run for it… I followed and she got the jump on me. Grabbed my gun and shot me."

"I'm sorry… about your fiancé." Sophie nodded her thanks. "How badly were you injured?"

"I had an emergency hysterectomy."

"How did you feel when they told you that?"

"Strange."

"Strange? How so?"

"I didn't feel any different… I mean where I was shot was soar and where they had to make the incisions… they took away what physically made me a woman and it didn't make me feel particularly worse."

"You didn't mind?"

"No… I should though, right? I should have a problem with the fact that I'll never be able to have kids now… I didn't. I've never wanted kids, my whole life I knew that I didn't want them."

"Sophie, it sounds like you're dealing with everything fairly well. Considering what you've been through lately, most people take weeks to deal with something like this."

"Well, I've had someone to talk to, so that's been a help."

"Are you dating again?"

"In a matter of speaking. We haven't been out on an actual date yet but we've been spending a lot of time together."

"Is this an attempt as a serious relationship?"

"I'm not sure yet… it definitely has potential." Sophie smiled softly, George just nodded. Their session was over.

Sophie felt nervous. For the first time in years she felt flat out nervous. Which logically seemed ridiculous. She and Bobby had been getting close for almost two months now. Still it felt as though there were butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach. The thought of Bobby inspired a feeling that went further down then just her stomach. Finally she had healed enough that if they wanted to… well of course they wanted to… but if they decided to, they could.

She glanced in the mirror once again; she had no idea where they were going. Mostly dinner and a movie, so Sophie had decided on a knee length skirt and a thin sweater. Before she could dedicate any more time to panicking there was a knock on the door.

"Hi." She smiled finding Bobby in a fresh suit, obviously he had gone home to change after work. He was holding two bags of groceries.

"Hi. So I was on my way over here and thought, maybe I'd cook, then we could go to the movies."

"You cook?" Bobby leaned down and kissed her.

"I cook." She grinned and moved aside so that he could come in. He disappeared into the kitchen.

"Soph, you own cooking utensils right? Pots, pans, spoons, right?"

"Yes." She laughed, closing the front door. "Need help finding them?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Just as she approached the kitchen he reached out from the doorway and pulled her in. The surprise of his actions caused her to land against him. It only took a moment before she pulled him down into a kiss.

"We're never going to get more to dinner if this keeps up." Sophie mumbled, pulling away for a moment.

"I'm not that hungry, you?" She just shook her head as they leaned in again. Bobby pulled her closer; their kisses were becoming more intense with each passing minute. Sophie felt her knees beginning to buckle; she wasn't sure how much longer she could remain the upright position.

Bobby seemed to realize this and gracefully moved them so that Sophie could lean against the wall. His left hand moved from her waist to cup the back of her head, keeping them fused together.

"Mm… Bobby…" Her voice was muffled. "Bobby." He paused and pulled back, not so much that their bodies lost contact, but enough that he could look down at her. "Maybe we try a different room?"

He nodded. Why make out like teenagers in the kitchen, when there was a perfectly good bed down the hall. She smiled breathlessly, taking his hand and leading him to her bedroom.

They stood silently in her bedroom for a moment before Sophie closed the space between them. Her hands slowly moved across his chest, sliding under his suit jacket. He took the hint and helped her take it off. Next went his tie, than she began to unbutton his dress shirt. However before she could finish his hands rested on hers, stopping their movements.

"Your turn." He smiled pressing a small kiss to her lips before sliding his hands down to the bottom of her sweater.

"You've got big hands." She observed quietly as the aforementioned body parts found their way underneath her top.

"Mm-hm." Bobby replied lifting up the fabric so that her stomach was exposed. It kept moving upwards until finally she was topless. Her black bra stood out against her pale skin. Bobby took her hand to lead her to the bed.

"Wait." She said pulling back for a moment. He looked concerned until he noticed that she had reached around to undo her skirt. It was mesmerizing to him as the fabric billowed to the floor. She was wearing thigh high stockings, which fascinated him further. Quickly she slipped out of her shoes then laid down on the bed.

"I think that makes it your turn." She smiled deviously.

"I think you're right." Bobby removed the unbuttoned shirt, than undid his belt. He toed off his shoes before discarding his pants, leaving them on the floor next to her skirt. With the removal of his undershirt he became as exposed as she was.

He moved towards the edge of the bed where her legs were dangling over the edge. Another step placed him between her bare thighs. The cotton of his boxers provided an interesting sensation against the sensitive flesh. As he leaned down to kiss her, she began move back on the bed. He followed until they reached the top of the bed. Bobby was holding himself above her, progressively getting closer.

Their lips met in a hard kiss, Bobby finally rested his arms so that he was lying on top of Sophie. He broke the kiss and began to move away from her mouth, pressing his lips to her jaw line, to her neck, finally reaching her collarbone.

"Bobby?" Her voice was hoarse with her desire for him.

"Soph?"

"I don't know about you, but it's been almost two years for me. Fore play is overrated at this point."

"You're an extraordinary woman, you know that?" He smiled softly, moving up to kiss her again. The last few scraps of clothing were discarded. "Are you… okay?" He asked.

"Better then that." She smiled reassuringly. Still the hesitance was palpable in the room. Very gently Bobby slid into her. They both froze for a moment, waiting for the world to implode. Nothing, Sophie felt nothing but Bobby. She nodded to him so that he could continue. It was a snug fit, which wasn't surprising considering that Bobby was a large man.

"Bobby." She managed as he moved further within her. He continued his motions while leaning down and kissing her.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, trying to keep him as close as possible. It wouldn't be long now… she could feel it and it seemed that Bobby was trying to hold off for her.

"Soph." His head rested in the curve of her neck and shoulder. Once more and their climaxes came at the same time. Sophie shook beneath him, her back arching. Bobby just laid still for a moment before relaxing.

"Wow."

"Yeah." They stayed in the same position for a moment or so more before Bobby rolled onto his back.

"That was…" He began.

"Wow." Sophie stared at the ceiling before turning to face him. "Bobby."

"Yeah?"

"Any perishables in those grocery bags?"

"No." She smiled deviously and pulled herself on top of him.

"Good."

It was going to be a little longer till they got around to dinner.

Alright. That was possibly the scariest chapter for me to write because I don't write that sex stuff often. Hopefully it wasn't too atrocious. Reviews as always. Be prepared for the next chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

**The people from SVU aren't mine either. I know, shocking. But I've gotten over it.**

**ONE YEAR LATER:**

Crime scenes are all the same. The crimes might vary but for the most part the scene afterwards are always identical. Uniformed cops, medical examiner, crime scene investigators and at some point a set of plain clothes detectives arrive to try and make sense of it all. Tonight was no different. The crime was perpetrated, someone called the police, and the dispatch unit arrives to find the body. Soon after the M.E. and forensics team arrived and shortly after two detectives.

Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler arrived shortly after midnight. Both had been unceremoniously woken from sleep, dressed quickly and arrived at the scene. They entered the crowded apartment and made their way inside. In the living room, a young woman's body laid motionless, the victim. A vital part of a crime scene. Her face was unidentifiable, her body covered by a sheet, placed there by a cop. Her fingertips were bleeding from being rubbed with a rough object.

"What happened?" Elliot asked looking around the apartment. It was furnished but all the personal touches were missing. No pictures or art.

"Far as we can tell it was someone she let in. Windows are all nailed shut and the door hasn't been broken."

"Anything around to ID her?" Liv asked, looking over the body.

"Found this." The uniformed officer handed her an expired drivers license.

"Thanks." Liv said as the officer walked away, rejoining the other uniformed cops searching the crime scene.

"Lets see what we can find out about Elizabeth Hitchens." Elliot said as he looked over the license. "And why she hasn't renewed her license."

**Doink Doink**

"This doesn't make any sense." Liv said glancing up from her computer.

"What does she have a record?" Elliot moved to look at the screen.

"She has something but I can't access the file, it's locked."

"Does it say why?"

"No, just refers me to Major Case."

"Have Cragen call." The two detectives walked to their captain's office. They explained the situation. In response Cragen picked up his phone and dialed.

"Major Case please, Captain Ross if he's available." There was a moment of silence while he waited to be connected.

"Ross." A voice answered.

"Danny, it's Don Cragen over at the 16th."

"Don, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We've got a murder victim and when we tried to access her records my detectives found them locked and referring us to Major Case."

"What's the name?"

"Elizabeth Hitchens."

Silence.

"Danny?"

"I'm going to send over two of my detectives, they'll be able to shed some light on this for you."

"Great." Cragen said, trying to sound sincere. "What're their names?"

"Bobby Goren and Alex Eames. I'll give them a call and send them down."

"Couldn't elaborate a little more?"

"Trust me, you'll find out more then you could ever imagine."

"Great, I'll find out when they get here then."

"Nice talking to you Don." Sincerity is not easy to fake for police captains. The phones hung up on both ends.

"Danny is sending over two of his detectives."

"But not their files?" Elliot asked sounding a little annoyed.

"Who are the detectives?" Liv asked ignoring her partner's comment.

**Across Town**

"We just keep getting better and better at that." Sophie smiled, collapsing next to Bobby.

"We should probably keep practicing though." He laughed as she curled against his side.

"Definitely. Of course we might want to save some time for other things, didn't we come in here for a different purpose?"

"Yeah, but we can always unpack later. I've got the day off."

"We'll managed to get side tracked again."

"Promise?" She laughed and snuggled closer to him.

They had moved into a smallish house a few weeks earlier. But between work and… more interesting activities, boxes were still taking up most of the space. It had been a quiet week so Bobby was able to take Friday off from work.

Overall, things had been quiet. Sophie was back to work as a field agent in the city after spending a month on desk duty. Bobby was… well, Bobby. Same brilliant detective as always, although he seemed to be a little more cheerful then he was before. Best of all they hadn't from Nicole or Harris since that night at the hospital. Neither knew how quickly things were about to change. Bobby's cell phone signaled that change.

"No." Sophie protested softly.

"I have to."

"I know." She sighed as Bobby reached over to the nightstand where his phone was vibrating.

"Goren." He was silent while listening. "Yeah, I'll be ready in five… see you then."

"You've got to go to work." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah… Soph, they found a body… Nicole might be involved." Sophie was quiet, she understood. Bobby climbed out of bed and began to get dressed.

"We really do need to get unpacked don't we?" He commented lightly as he put on the same suit he had worn the day before.

"Yup." While he was getting his things together Sophie had also gotten out of bed and pulled her robe on. She took his hand and walked downstairs with him. Bobby stopped to look around the living room then checked to make sure that the front door was locked before moving on the back door.

"I'll give you a call if we find anything." He said leaning down to give her a lingering kiss. "Lock this." He gestured to the door. She nodded.

"Be careful." Bobby gave her one more kiss then headed towards the SUV where Eames was waiting. Sophie closed and locked the door. This was the last thing they needed. With a sigh she returned to the bedroom, unable to get to sleep, she began to unpack boxes.

**Surprise. We've jumped ahead. I really wanted to get Sophie and Bobby established as a serious couple before going on with what I have in mind. Reviews, as always, are awesome and appreciated. Another chapter will hopefully be along as soon as I can get it written.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I've said it before and I'll say it again, a conclusion is a terrible thing to jump to.**

"Goren… why does that name sound familiar?" Olivia asked.

"He went undercover a while ago, in the mental ward of a prison without permission." Cragen explained.

"Goren?" Elliot was surprised. "The wack job?"

"He's not the only one with a reputation." Cragen reminded his detective who was well known for his temper.

"Major Case is going to sweep in and the wack job is going to take our case."

"Actually we've been on this case for 6 years now. And you can just call me Goren." Came a voice from the door where Bobby and Alex stood.

"He is a bit odd, but we have a high success rate, so don't hold it against us." Eames said, not wanting to let the insult of her partner go unaddressed.

"Detectives Goren and Eames." Cragen asked rhetorically standing up.

"Yeah." Eames answered. Hand shakes were exchanged, a moment of discomfort between Goren and Elliot.

"You're here about Elizabeth Hitchens?" Olivia asked, breaking the tension between the detectives.

"Nicole Wallace." Goren corrected.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nicole Wallace. Elizabeth Hitchens was murdered in Australia by Nicole, who then stole her identity and came to America."

"This isn't your first encounter with her." Elliot stated looking up from one of the folders.

"This'll be my fifth." Eames said. "Bobby's sixth."

"Why did you think that your victim was Elizabeth Hitchens?" Goren asked.

"Found this at the scene and nothing else." Elliot handed over the driver's license.

"Well that's Nicole." Goren said, passing the evidence bag over to Eames. "Does the picture match the body?"

"We can't tell. The face was bludgeoned and the fingertips rubbed away."

"Was there anything on who the perp might've been?" Eames asked.

"Nothing. We can tell that whoever did it had to be let in."

"Uh. Can we see the crime scene?" Liv and Elliot exchanged looks.

"Sure." Liv answered.

"And the crime scene photos." Bobby turned to his partner. "It's not an accident that the license turned up with the body. Nicole's trying to fake her death again."

"Which means that she's planning something."

"Can we see the body as well?"

"We can go down to the morgue right now." Elliot said, keeping his annoyance with Goren's quick requests silent.

**DOINK DOINK**

"Hey guys." Warner greeted when she saw Elliot and Liv come in.

"Melinda Warner, these are Detectives Goren and Eames from Major Case." Liv introduced them.

"You here about Miss Hitchens?"

"Nicole Wallace actually." Elliot interjected as they followed Warner over to the covered body.

"Possibly." Goren added. "Nicole has faked her own death before."

"Well, I was unable to find any identifying marks. The fingerprints have been rubbed away. Her face was completely beaten." Warner pulled the sheet down so that Goren and Eames could see for themselves. Goren tilted his head and looked over the woman's face.

"Looks like she was hit with a… baseball bat… except for here… looks like the handle of a gun." He mused aloud.

"I noticed that." Warner said, confirming Goren's speculation.

"Did you do a full examination?"

"She was raped."

"Was there any sign that she had ever given birth?" Eames asked.

"No, up until a little bit ago she was a virgin."

"This Elizabeth woman has a child?" Elliot asked, making his and Liv's presence known.

"She did." Goren began. "Her 3 year old who died rather mysteriously when they were in Australia." He turned back to Warner. "Could you run an analysis on the gun imprint?"

"Sure, am I looking for anything in particular?"

"Well, if it is Nicole the gun might match one lost last January by Special Agent Sophie Rooks."

"You think she kept Sophie's gun?"

"Wouldn't be beyond her, we didn't find it at the scene."

"I'll get started on that." Melinda nodded, somewhat surprised at Goren and Eames. She looked to Liv "I'll give you a call if I find anything."

Bobby looked over the body for a moment before following the other detectives out of the room, nodding his thanks to Melinda. It was time to go to the crime scene. As they climbed into Elliot and Olivia's car, Elliot and Bobby in the front, Olivia and Eames in the back.

"I think it's about time you two filled us in on this case."

Bobby glanced back at Eames. He wondered if the car ride would be long enough.

**Just wanted to get something out to avoid conclusion confusion. Reviews are made of awesome.**


	22. Chapter 22

"She's been involved with 19 murders?" Elliot asked in surprise as they climbed the three flights of stairs to the crime scene.

"As far as we know." Eames mentioned.

"What time was this murder called in?" Bobby asked as they approached the door. The crime scene seal was broken and they entered. The carpet displayed spots of blood, clearly showing where the woman's head was and her hands. Olivia handed Eames the crime scene photos.

"About 11.30, we got here a little after 12." Elliot answered. He and Olivia watched as the other two detectives began to look around the apartment. Bobby made his way to the bloodstains on the carpet then glanced back to the bedroom. Eames looked over the empty shelves of the apartment.

"This place was completely empty?" She asked.

"Yeah. Aside from the furniture there was nothing else here." Olivia answered.

"Two people against this one woman." Bobby announced.

"How can you tell?" Elliot asked. Bobby paused for a moment, looking down at crime scene photos.

"Her fingerprints were removed by two different people. One hand was rubbed with more pressure then the other. Maybe a man… Harris." Bobby said the name more to himself then to the others. "You can see, whoever took care of the left hand held it tight enough to bruise. Nicole isn't physically strong enough to cause that much bruising."

Before he could go on Elliot's cell rang. He answered as Eames and Bobby continued to look around the room.

"That was Warner. The gun matched Agent Rooks. Also she thinks that she's found a DNA match, Millie Harris."

"Harris?" Eames repeated in surprise before glancing over at Bobby. "I thought he just had a son?"

"Maybe she's a niece or something… I'll give Soph a call, see if she knows."

"She might be able to recognize the body."

Bobby nodded as he pulled out his cell phone. He disappeared into the hallway.

"Sophie Rooks, the agent that Nicole tried to kill…" Elliot began.

"She and Bobby have been together for about a year now." Eames said passively, looking down at the bloodstains.

**Hallway**

"Hello." It was pleasant to hear her voice, Bobby thought to himself as he paced the hall.

"Hey Soph."

"Bobby, what's going on? Is it her."

"Looks that way. Do you know… did Harris have a relative named Millie?"

"Millie… yes. He had a niece, his sister's daughter. She grew up with David after her parents died."

"Soph, I need you to meet me at the 16th prescient."

"What for?" She asked softly.

"To ID a body." He replied carefully. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"All right, I'll see you then."

"Love you." She said quickly.

"Love you too."

About an hour later the four detectives had returned to SVU's offices. Olivia and Elliot returned to their desks while Eames called Ross to let him know what was going on.

"Go ahead and let them open the files." Ross told her. He wasn't crazy about his two best detectives being forced into working this case with others, but maybe an extra set would be helpful.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Yeah, make sure your partner plays nice."

"I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will."

Bobby was watching as the information he and Eames gathered over the past 6 years appeared on a large electronic board. Pictures from the crime scenes, notes that he could remember taking, the file on Sophie's shooting, it was all there in front of them.

"You're thorough." Olivia commented as she glanced over the presented information.

_Or obsessive, _Elliot thought to himself.

"Bobby Goren, what are you doing here?" Turning at the sound of his name Bobby saw the man addressing him.

"John Munch." The men shook hands warmly, as old friends would. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, about a year or so. How've you been?"

"Can't complain. You?"

"Married."

"Again?"

"For good hopefully. You here on business?"

"Unfortunately."

"Bobby." Again he turned, this time at Eames' voice. Standing next to her was Sophie. It was obvious from her appearance that she didn't go back to sleep last night after he left. Her tired eyes were looking over the board.

"We should get down to the morgue." Elliot said breaking the silence. Sophie nodded in agreement. Bobby and Elliot led her down stairs. Elliot disappeared to find Warner as Bobby and Sophie waited at the window where a curtain was drawn.

"You didn't sleep." He commented, his hand moving to rest against the small of her back, a gesture that she had come to enjoy over the last year.

"Couldn't. But I got the bedroom almost completely unpacked."

"Leave the heavier boxes for me."

"Okay… so this is the body they found this morning?"

"Yeah… Nicole's running around with your gun."

"How do you know?"

"The head wound… one of the imprints matched the handle of you gun." Sophie sighed heavily and leaned against Bobby.

"Any leads?"

"Nothing yet." Elliot reappeared.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." She moved away from Bobby towards the window. Elliot leaned forward and knocked on the glass. The curtain pulled back to reveal the covered body. Warner pulled the blue sheet down so that the face and shoulders were visible.

"Is that her?" Bobby asked gently.

Sophie looked closely. "It looks like her. Same hair color and body size… the face… it's hard to tell… uh… she had a birthmark, a large one on her lower back." Warner carefully shifted the body. Sure enough there was the mark.

The curtain closed again, Sophie turned her back to the window opting for leaning against the wall.

"D'you think Harris was involved with this?" She asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. His FBI files are sealed, do you think you could fill in some blanks for us?"

"Sure." She nodded. Elliot led them back to the offices, as they climbed the stairs Bobby's hand again rested against Sophie's back. Trying to offer her a moment of comfort while he could.

**Undisclosed Location**

"Nikki?" Harris called coming into the upstairs loft of the abandoned warehouse.

"There you are. I was wondering when you would get back. How did it go?"

"They're all down at the Special Victims Unit. This should interest you." He handed her a few sheets of paper. She skimmed them quickly as he took a seat next to her on the sofa.

"Well well. Detective Goren and his special agent are in escrow. We should find them a nice housewarming present." She smiled menacingly.

"What did you have in mind?"

_**Yeah right like I'm going to tell you what she's planning.**_

**That's all for this chapter. Reviews as always are welcomed. I'll try and get the next bit up soon… my turn to smile menacingly. Oh, by the way for those who watch SVU and are going "Munch isn't married" I'm linking this to my SVU stories in which Munch is indeed married. And if that interests you then check those out.**


	23. Chapter 23

"Alan, but he preferred to be called Harris. He was with the Feds for almost 30 years." Sophie found herself back in the main office, leaning against a desk that doubled as a JFK shrine. This was so not what she had planned for today. She and Bobby should've been unpacking and settling into their new house.

"Agent Rooks." A surprised voice interrupted.

"Agent Huang." Oh goody, her shrink.

"You two know each other?" Munch asked from his desk chair.

"FBI pot luck." Sophie replied drily.

"You're helping with this case?" Sophie nodded.

"Did you know this Harris guy?" Elliot asked Huang.

"The occasional psych evaluation. He never showed any signs of instability that would lead to this. Then again I only saw him for half an hour or so. Agent Rooks worked with him more."

"I obviously didn't see this coming." Sophie sighed.

"Did you notice any personality changes?"

"After David was killed he was different. Which isn't exactly shocking. He became very protective when we were working. Never let anything happen unless it was planned."

"The last time you worked together, he planned everything?"

"Nicole obviously had a hand in the planning." Bobby interjected. "I doubt that it was accidental that you ended up in that alley with her."

"Something must have snapped in Agent Harris' mind that drove him to Nicole." Huang observed.

"Obviously… maybe he and Nicole met…" Something finally clicked in Sophie's mind, some miniscule detail that she had forgotten for whatever reason.

"What is it?" Bobby asked.

"The guy… about a year ago we were still working surveillance. There was a guy who said he drove Nicole… there had been a false alarm called in by Harris. He said he pulled over the wrong car…"

"You think he was lying?" Elliot was the one to speak this time.

"Harris might be older, but he's sharp. It's highly unlikely that he pulled over the wrong car."

"So it's a safe assumption that they've been in cahoots for a while." Eames observed.

"We had been doing surveillance, he could've recognized John as the one who killed David."

"You didn't recognize him?" Eames asked Sophie.

"I didn't know who he was. I was undercover when it happened and Harris always told me that they couldn't positively ID the guy."

"You never questioned him on it?" Elliot asked.

"I never had a reason to question him. We were talking about the guy who killed his son and my fiancé; at the time I didn't think that there was anything _to _question." There was an obvious resentment to Elliot's insinuation. Before she could make any other reply however her cell phone began to ring. Sophie excused herself and moved out into the hallway.

When she returned her complexion was a shade paler, which Bobby noticed immediately. Her phone was still in hand, when she spoke however her voice was unemotional.

"That was Marc, he works in surveillance and security for the building. Thought that I would want to know that someone came in through the parking garage entrance this morning using Harris' ID badge. No one noticed when it happened because the computers were rebooting." Sophie explained.

"Did they see who used it?" Huang asked, remembering that there was a camera positioned near the door in question.

"They're working on it. In the mean time I wanted in my captain's office."

"I'll walk out with you." Bobby offered, standing up. He and Sophie left the office and took the elevator to the parking garage.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bobby asked as they neared her car.

"I'm sure."

"You're being very calm." He observed quietly.

"Well that's probably because I've got New York's Finest looking out for me." She smiled, leaning in and kissing him. "I'll see you at home?" Bobby nodded and kissed her again.

"Be careful."

"You be careful too, I don't want you running down dark alleys or anything." Bobby moved in closer, her back was against the driver's side of her car.

"I'll be careful." He kissed her once more as his hand slid behind her and rested on the door handle. She leaned forward so that he could open the door for her. With a smile the door closed and she started the engine.

"How touching." Came a voice as soon as the car was out of sight. Bobby's hand went instantly to his gun. "Now Bobby, isn't that a little hasty?"

"I don't think so Nicole." She moved closer.

"I'm unarmed, I'm here willingly." He watched as she threw her hands up in mock defeat. He didn't trust her and wouldn't lower his weapon until she was cuffed and in a holding cell upstairs. Which was exactly where she found herself.

23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23

I'm going some where with this, trust me. Reviews as always are appreciated.


	24. Chapter 24

"Liv and I should go in first, see if she'll confirm Millie Harris as her victim." Elliot said. They were standing outside of the interrogation room, trying to decide who would go in first with Nicole.

"Sorry but, what makes you think that you'll be able to get anything out of her?" Eames asked, she thought back to the first time she and Bobby interrogated Nicole, the game of tit for tat that had taken place. "Nicole isn't exactly forth coming."

"We've read the files, I think that we're better equip to deal with someone with a history of sexual abuse." Bobby was silent while Elliot said this.

"By all means." He said, moving aside so that the two detectives could enter the room. Cragen, Bobby and Eames moved to watch through the double-sided window. Nicole was sitting calmly in the cinder block room, perfectly aware of the crowd observing her on the opposite side of the mirror. Part of Bobby was annoyed, after Sophie he had wanted first crack at Nicole, on the other hand he had never seen her interact with other detectives.

24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24

"Nicole Wallace." Elliot said, coming into the room. The loud tone didn't shake her. "Is that the name you're going by today?"

"Detectives." She greeted. "Bobby sitting this one out?"

"Don't worry, you'll see Detective Goren soon enough." Olivia assured her, sitting down across from Nicole.

"Wouldn't want to waste the opportunity." Nicole smirked.

"You've been a busy woman." Elliot commented, sitting down next to Liv. "19 murders, now Millie Harris, not to mention shooting a Federal agent."

"Charges were brought for those murders, not all of them resulted in conviction. I did shoot Agent Rooks, there's no point in lying about that considering who's watching us?"

"And Millie Harris? Did her uncle help you kill her?"

"What makes you think that I had anything to do with Millie's death?"

"Found this at the scene." Elliot tossed the evidence bag on the table. "That is you isn't it?"

"Yes, but I lost that a long time ago. Could've gotten anywhere by now."

"Yet it found its way to a crime scene where the niece of a former FBI agent that you had connections with. That sound like coincidence to you?"

"Sounds like the definition of coincidence. Speculative at best. This crime scene of yours, did you find fingerprints? DNA? Anything truly damning? I think that if you did have something we wouldn't be wasting time while you two tried to force some confession out of me."

Nicole paused but before Elliot or Olivia could say anything else she began to speak again.

"Let me guess, you read Detective Goren's profile on me and thought that because you're the sex police you'd be best to handle me?" She laughed.

There really wasn't anything else to say. Normal tactics had flown out the window the moment that Nicole opened her mouth. Olivia and Elliot exchanged looks. They nodded and Olivia got up and left the room. A moment later Bobby replaced her. He took the empty seat next to Elliot, setting his binder down in front of him.

"They took you off the leash?" Nicole taunted. "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough I'm afraid."

"Don't say that, Detective Stabler might think you don't like me."

"Lady, I'm wondering if your own mother likes you." Elliot interjected, obviously growing irritated with the Australian woman.

"Well, why don't you ask the profiler extraordinaire? You've always had me figured out, right Bobby?"

"Are you nervous Nicole?"

"Don't be silly, why would I be nervous?"

"Well, aside from your past crimes, we've got you on yet _another _murder, not to mention the attempted murder of an FBI agent."

"Ah yes, Sophie, your own _very special agent._ How is Agent Rooks? She appears to have healed." Nicole wore a smug expression on her face. She knew, Harris probably told her the extent of Sophie's injuries.

"You're amused, aren't you? Another woman you were able to take something away from… something that can't be replaced. Someone else was hurt like you were. You're proud of yourself, the grief you've caused?" Bobby didn't realize what was happening. He had encountered Nicole many times and never felt so close to loosing control.

"I think you're being a touch over dramatic. Besides, I'm sure you were more then willing to comfort her, Robert Goren; white knight? Has a ring to it."

"This isn't a fairy tale Nicole. The only thing waiting for you at the end of this all is a cell." With that Bobby made his way for the door. He had to get out of there before emotions got the better of him. He was almost through the door when…

"I'm almost forgot, how's your mother?" He froze for a moment before continuing out. Without a word he brushed past Eames, Olivia and Cragen.

"You're a sick lady." With that Elliot followed Bobby's lead and left the room.

"Well, that was productive." Cragen muttered, turning off the speaker they had been listening through.

"What was all that about?" Olivia asked looking towards the direction Bobby had disappeared. Eames paused for a moment.

"It's not really my place to say." She said quietly before going in search of her partner. Bobby was leaning against the wall of an empty hallway when she found him. She quietly stood next to him.

"You okay?"

"Fine… I just… she needs to be put away this time."

"She will, we'll make sure of it… have you talk to Sophie at all?"

"A little. She won't talk about it."

"I think you need to go spend some time with her." Bobby just nodded. He knew that this was opening wounds for Sophie, but it was hurting him too. It wasn't just his past with Nicole anymore, Soph had a past with her now too. "This was supposed to be my day off."

"Go home, unpack, spend some time with Sophie." Again he nodded. About five minutes later Bobby found himself pulling out of the parking garage, headed home. Sophie's car was already in the driveway when he got there.

"Soph?" He called coming through the backdoor.

"Living room, babe." She called back. "I was thinking we could build a fort."

"Oh yeah?" He sunk onto the couch, resting his legs on the coffee table. Sophie finished the box she was working on then joined him, laying down so that her head was in his lap. The house was quiet, a nice change from the police station.

"How 'bout we run away?" She suggested, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of Bobby's arms around her.

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"Some where warm."

"Mexico? Criminals always seem eager to get there."

"Probably the beaches. The beach sounds nice."

"I think we're rapidly earning vacation time."

"I think you're right." She sighed. "Lets go to Mexico after this."

"I'll get you a swimsuit." Bobby offered. She laughed.

"A yellow polka dot bikini?"

"Teeny, tiny one sweetheart." He grinned.

"Lets go upstairs, I'm exhausted."

"We really need to unpack."

"Yeah, we'll do it later." She replied as they climbed the steps. The two quietly got changed and climbed into bed, both blissfully unaware of the car parked outside.

24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24

That's it for right now, I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Thanks as always for the reviews.


	25. Chapter 25

"Munch, Fin," Cragen called coming out of his office. "You're transferring Miss Wallace."

"Where?" Munch asked hesitant to get up right away from his desk.

"I just got a call from Danny Ross over at Major Case, they're going to hold Nicole until the Feds get involved, which should be any day now." Cragen explained. The two detectives did as they were told and went to get Nicole from the holding cell. This was going to make for an interesting ride.

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

Bobby awoke a few hours after they had first laid down. It took him a moment to realize what it was that had woken him. Sophie was curled up at his side and was in the midst of a nightmare. Her body was trembling and he could feel tears running down his side where her head rested.

"Sophie…" He shook her gently. "Soph wake up." Again he shook her. Finally it seemed to be working and she was roused from whatever was keeping her from sleeping. "Are you okay?"

"No." She managed softly before breaking down in tears. He put his arms around her and held her tightly, Sophie quickly adapted to his comfort and wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him close.

"What is it?" He asked softly, cupping the back of her head with one large hand. "Soph, please tell me."

"She's taken everything from me… what if I loose you too?" Her voice was muffled against his neck but he caught every word. "I can't loose you Bobby."

"Hey, lean back here." He got her to shift backwards so that she was looking him straight in the face. "Sophie you are not going to loose me." She looked away for a moment causing him to rest his hands on either side of her face and urging her to make eye contact again. "You are not going to loose me. There is nothing Nicole can do that will change that. I love you Sophie, more then I ever thought I could love someone… Nicole and Harris aren't going to come between us, I won't let them."

Sophie nodded, her hands covered Bobby's, keeping them where they were on her face. "I love you too… I just… I don't know what I would do without you Bobby." She hugged him closely again.

"You don't have to find out." He reassured her. "I'll never let you find out." This time she pulled back on her own. For a long moment she gazed at him before leaning forward and kissing him as hard as she could. He was knocked back against the headboard letting out a small wince of pain.

"Sorry." She said quickly pulling away and placing a hand behind his head. "Sor—" He cut her off and kissed her again, just as hard as before. With a swift movement he pulled the sash of her robe and slid his hands beneath the silk fabric. This was what they both needed right now, not to talk but to feel close.

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

"Miss Wallace, you're being moved to different accommodations." Munch said approaching the small holding cell.

"A higher class, I'm sure." She smiled sweetly, complying as Fin opened the door and Munch handcuffed her.

"Oh absolutely." He replied sarcastically, "Cell with a view of the Major Case Squad."

"Ah home sweet home."

_What a pistol,_ Munch thought as they led her to the elevators.

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

Need is an interesting thing. It sometimes is difficult to understand what mysterious force if driving you. In this situation neither Sophie nor Bobby cared what was telling them to remove as much clothing as they could as quickly as possible. There wasn't that much to take off but that didn't seem to matter. Sophie's robe landed quietly on the floor; underneath the incredibly girly robe she wore a The Who t-shirt that was too big.

Bobby also had very little to take off, he had collapsed on the bed hour earlier in just his pajama bottoms. Sophie pulled them off quickly, throwing them to the floor with her robe and t-shirt. Now that all barriers were out of the way Sophie swung a leg over Bobby so that she was straddling him. This was definitely the fastest they had ever gone. With one quick motion Bobby was in.

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

"So what is it? The sex cops decide that they can't handle me?" Nicole asked as she slid into the back seat of the unmarked car.

"Fraid not, you're being moved until the FBI comes to get you."

"They get first dibs since you tried to kill one of their agents."

"If I had wanted to kill her, then I would have. As it is, I was offering Detective Goren an ultimatum. How often do you get a choice between saving the girl and catching the baddie?"

"Obviously he made the smart choice. They save Sophie and yet here you are cuffed in the back of a police car." Munch observed.

"Let me ask you something Detective Munch, familiar with the concept of misdirection?" He and Fin exchanged a glance before Munch turned back to look at Nicole, who seemed to be bracing herself. They never saw the car driving straight towards them until it was too late.

CRASH

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

"Bobby!" Sophie all but screamed before collapsing against him. He laid back down, still holding her close to his chest. They were both breathing heavily; Sophie rested her head against his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. "Was that your stomach?"

"Yes… we shouldn't have skipped dinner." He smiled brushing her hair away from her face.

"I'll go see what we have." Sophie climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes from the floor. "Did we unpack the kitchen?"

"I don't think so." Bobby laughed sitting up and grabbing his boxers. He followed her down the kitchen.

"We have some left over Italian from the other night." Sophie said from where she was looking inside the fridge. Before the microwave dinged Bobby's cell phone was ringing. This seemed to be a common staple for their evenings.

"Goren." He answered, the same tone as always. Sophie leaned against the counter while he spoke. "Are Munch and Fin okay? … Alright I'll see you in a few Eames."

"What happened?"

"Nicole escaped… Munch and Fin were taking her over to Major Case and a car hit them head on."

"Are they okay?"

"A little banged up. Eames is on her way over, we're going to go over to the hospital, see what we can find out… why don't you come with?"

"That's not necessary, you're just going to the hospital."

"I know but… no, you're right. We're just going over the hospital."

"We're unlisted, they can't possibly know where we live." Bobby nodded in agreement; he knew that it would be difficult information to find.

"Just keep your gun with you, so that I know you're armed at least."

"It'll be fine. You'll go, see what you can find out and when you get back we'll eat." She smiled softly, he knew that there was hesitance behind her features and relaxed attitude. "You should get dressed."

He just nodded and made his way upstairs with Sophie in tow. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as he pulled on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. After a moment or two she snapped out of her haze and went around to her side of the bed. Inside the drawer of her nightstand was her gun, still in it's holster. His and Her weapons was how she referred to them each having a gun in their nightstands.

As he had the night before Bobby took a few minutes to make sure that the doors were locked and windows were closed. While he did this Sophie followed, her gun tucked away in her robe pocket. He paused at the back door and leaned back, pulling her into his arms at the same time.

"Be careful." She said, kissing him tenderly.

"You be careful too. Don't open the door and keep your gun with you."

"I will." They kissed again. "I love you."

"Love you too." And with that Bobby left. Sophie went back to the food that sat forgotten in the microwave. She wrapped it back up and returned it to the fridge. They'd eat when Bobby came home. _Might as well unpack_ Sophie thought to herself. She went back to the living room where she had been getting boxes emptied earlier that day.

_Creak _

The noise cause her head to jerk up. Sophie glanced at the back door then over at the front door. Nothing… she was sure that she had heard a door open. A moment later she felt something pressed against her back and an arm wrap around her chest.

"Forgot the basement door."

"Harris…"

"You should know by now that I can always find you. Even if you're unlisted."

"You're the one who broke into my office."

"Exactly. I know where the security cameras are. How do you think I managed to avoid being seen? You had your new address there. I broke in about a few days before, went back later and used my security badge in the basement."

"You and Nicole planned this whole thing… even killing Millie." Harris seemed surprised; he pushed Sophie onto the couch.

"What about Millie?"

"Nicole murdered her. Don't play innocent, you and I both know it won't work." Harris backhanded Sophie across the face.

"Millie's dead?" Sophie rested her hand on the corner of her mouth… she was bleeding. She couldn't believe it, Harris seemed to honestly not know that his niece was dead. Rather then dwell on that knowledge she looked up to see that Harris had moved to a nearby chair and was sitting stunned. This was her opportunity. Her hand slid down to the gun in her pocket.

"Harris?" he looked up. Sophie had her gun trained on him. "Put it down."

He laughed and stood up again.

"Is that the game you want to play? You won't shoot me." He moved closer to her. "You wouldn't do that to David, to his memory." He made a move for the gun, which fired twice, both missing. Again he hit her and knocked her back to the couch. "Don't make this any harder then it has to be. I'm going to take this gun, take you up stairs where you will get dressed and then you're coming with me."

With a hard motion Harris pulled her to her feet and forced her up stairs. She hesitantly entered the bedroom; painfully aware of how closely he was watching her. The room was dimly lit, the disarray of the bed sheets made it clear what she and Bobby had been up to.

"Just get dressed Sophie, I wouldn't expect you to perform again so soon." She turned quickly. He had heard them. "If I were you I'd get some sort of alarm system or something very loud that could be heard over the two of you."

Sophie moved to the closet and got dressed as quickly and carefully as she possibly could. Jeans and a t-shirt would suffice. She slipped on a pair of shoes then turned back around. Harris had moved closer to her, suddenly she found herself pushed up against the wall.

"Of course I've always found you attractive…"

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

"Feel better Munch." Bobby said, leaving the room. His partner was waiting outside of the room. Elliot and Olivia were standing with her. "Nothing more then what Fin was able to tell us…" Bobby realized that Eames was looking at him hesitantly and the other two detectives were also looking as though something were wrong. "What? What is it?"

"Bobby, we need to head over to your house." Eames said gently, resting her hand on his forearm.

"What happened?" His tone became forceful, disguising his concern.

"Bobby, you need to stay calm." Eames continued in a careful tone. "Someone reported hearing gunshots… Sophie is gone and…" She couldn't bring herself to say it and looked to Olivia and Elliot.

"And what?"

"Sophie might've been raped." Bobby didn't hear anything after that.

25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25-25

Okay, That's it for right now. I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can because I'm not cruel. Reviews are awesome.


	26. Chapter 26

The house was crawling with cops and feds when they arrived. Ross and Cragen were in the midst of a heated argument with the lead FBI agent who had shown up. Inside there were crime scene investigators going over the living room and kitchen. There were two bullet holes in the wall and no blood, which was hopefully a good sign. Bobby walked through his house in a daze, suddenly finding himself standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He had walked away from the group outside that was trying to determine who should be in control of the crime scene. It didn't really matter at this point. Sophie was gone, possibly hurt… possibly violated… he couldn't even process the word Olivia used at the hospital. Hobby paused for a moment, realizing that he had climbed the stairs and was standing hesitantly outside of their bedroom.

Slowly he peered inside, suddenly afraid of what he might see. The lights had been turned on; when he left earlier they had been dim. Sophie's closet door was open. Harris made her get changed before he took her. The robe she had been wearing when he left was resting on the still unmade bed, which displayed signs of their earlier activities…

Bobby quickly looked around the rest of the room. The investigators were snapping pictures of the bed and Sophie's robe. Was that their big clue? The thought entered his mind and processed it to be feasible.

"Goren?" A voice came from behind. It was Stabler.

"What made the investigators believe that she was… that _that_ happened?"

"Uh…" Stabler hesitated for a moment. "The bed was like it is now and there was… specimen." He was finding it difficult to give this information to another detective. "They have it down at the lab now."

"It might not have been Harris." Bobby allowed himself that glimmer of hope. "Earlier tonight before I got called down to the hospital… it could be my DNA they collected."

"I'll call Warner, see where they are." Elliot offered, pulling out his cell and leaving the room. Bobby sighed and sat down in the chair that faced the bed and closets. He leaned back for a moment, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Bobby?" He heard Eames' voice. With a forced breath he sat up and faced his partner.

26-26-26-26-26-26-Earlier that Night-26-26-26-26-26-26

"Get away Harris, you're making a fool of yourself." Sophie said, shaking his hand from her shoulder.

"Now Sophie, play nice."

"Play nice? You're holding me at gun point, trying to justify your betrayal through David." He slapped her, hard across the other cheek.

"Lets go." He said gruffly, giving her a shove towards the door. "We'll have time. Later."

26-26-26-26-26-26-Back to where we are-26-26-26-26-26-26

"Bobby it didn't match Harris. The only DNA they found was yours and Sophie's." Eames was kneeling down in front of his chair, speaking very calmly.

With a sigh of relief Bobby leaned back again and closed his eyes, thanking God and keeping the burning tears from falling. Now he could focus solely on finding Sophie and bringing her home. He was tilting his head again to look at his partner when something stopped him.

"You've got to be kidding me." Eames was confused by this statement before turning to see where he was looking. The ceiling…

Bobby quickly stood up and pulled the chair across the floor so that he was under the air vent. It was open.

"The house when we were under cover was bugged. Cameras in the vents, we didn't notice right away… the vents are usually kept closed." He explained to Eames wedging the cover off. Sure enough there was a small camera pointing towards the bed.

26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26

"They've found the cameras." Nicole said as Harris entered the office. They were in an abandoned warehouse, using the old office for heir base of operations. "Is she locked up?"

"Yes. I told you they find those cameras."

"It doesn't matter." Nicole's tone was annoyed as she stood up. "They found them after we took Sophie, not before."

"Did you kill Millie?"

"Why would you think that?" She asked, moving to the other side of the room.

"I asked you a question." Harris demanded, following her. He grabbed her by the arms and shook. "Did you kill my niece?"

"That's a stupid question, even for you Harris. I'm sure your protégé told you all about what happened. What I'm wondering is, when did your devotion to this project disappear?"

"You killed my niece." Harris was furious; this was going way too far. Millie was an innocent bystander. She wasn't even a bystander; they hadn't been in contact for years. "You went too far Nicole."

"I'm sorry, what do you intend to do about it?"

Before Harris could respond there was a gunshot. It seemed like slow motion as he fell to the ground.

"Eddie, wonderful timing as always."

"I try." He shrugged, removing the silencer from his gun and returning the pistol to its holster.

"Be a dear…" Nicole said, turning to the desk behind her and quickly scrawling a note. She bent down and slipped the paper into Harris' coat pocket. "Take our fallen friend here and drop him off at the 16th precinct."

"You want me to go to a police station?" He was shocked.

"You don't have to go in. Just drop the body in the parking garage. They'll find it." She smirked. Eddie just nodded and began to move the motionless body. This was a ridiculously clear message that he was delivering.

26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26

_Bobby,_

_Tit for tat has become a horribly dull game. Something new? How about hide and seek? You've got a day before your special agent is dispatched. Happy hunting,_

_-Nicole._

26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26-26

That's all for right now. Short chapter I know, hopefully the next one will be a little longer. Thanks for the reviews (deliriousdancer, rindy713 and whashaza you three are made of awesome, I always look forward to your reviews). Hope everyone is enjoying the story.

--Sara


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay I was rereading some past chapters to make sure that I was being relatively cohesive with the days and what not. In 22 when Nicole and Harris are talking about the house, assume that they were talking about that at a different time, earlier on then when it seems. Sorry I didn't make that clear when I should've. Enjoy the chapter.**

27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27

Sophie knew what hit her. There was no question about that. She didn't see it coming. Harris dragged her into an abandoned office, knocked her unconscious with… something heavy then handcuffed her to a radiator. Son of a bitch used her own cuffs on her.

After about an hour Sophie came to. The room was empty, as far as she could tell there were no sounds coming from outside. Obviously they were in a secluded location. Sophie closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall, everything was spinning. There was blood slowly gushing from where Harris had hit her.

"Well, look who's up." Sophie knew the voice, the accent.

"Nicole."

"You don't sound happy to see me." Nicole taunted, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"Yeah, lets see if we can figure that one out." Sophie replied sarcastically.

"I've got bad news, Harris is dead. No tears?"

"I'm sure I'll find a way to get over it."

"I'm sure." Nicole looked over her hostage. "He got you pretty good there." She pointed to Sophie's head.

"Are we just going to sit here and point out obvious facts to each other?"

"No." Nicole paused before making her way to the door. "Bobby's got about 22 hours to figure out where we are otherwise I'm going to kill you."

"I'm failing to see what this is all about. To the best of my knowledge I haven't done anything to you, if anyone should be making death threats here it's me." Sophie's head was beginning to spin again.

"This isn't about you, it's about Bobby." With that Nicole left the room. Sophie sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. She could only hope that he would find her soon. There didn't seem to be any other options at the moment.

27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27

22 hours, 16 minutes… Bobby was on edge. The lab techs were still going over the cameras to see what they could determine. Nicole's note lay on the table infront of him. Harris was dead which meant that there was someone else helping her now. Someone else was watching guard over Sophie. That seemed to worry him more then the thought of Harris. At least with Harris he knew that she could handle herself. Despite all of his betrayal Sophie would've had a chance of talking him down from doing something rash. Now… now he didn't know.

"Death is pretty straight forward." Warner said, pulling the cover back from the corpse formerly known as Harris. "Shot in the back. Probably didn't see it coming. There are no signs of a struggle, chances are he was caught by surprise."

Bobby held back a sigh. Nothing helpful, nothing that would help figure out where he had been in the past few hours.

"There is something else." Warner interrupted Bobby's thoughts of disappointment. "He would have been dead within the next few months. Brain tumor, growing rapidly from what I've been able to tell. His blood tests showed traces of pain meds, which means he either knew about it or was simply feeling the pain."

"Where is the tumor located?" Bobby asked.

"Frontal lobe."

"Which would account for…" This time Bobby did sigh. "… For changes in behavior."

"That's right. Pressure on the frontal lobe can effect a person's sense of right and wrong, risk taking…"

"That probably explains his latest friend." Stabler said, vocalizing what everyone else was thinking. No one really knew what to say; luckily the ringing of a cell phone broke the awkward silence. Olivia pulled the phone from her pocket and read the message.

"The lab has something on the cameras." She announced. The group of detectives moved towards the door. Bobby glanced at the body once more before looking down at his watch: 22 hours, 11 minutes.

27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27-27

The lab technician met them at the SUV office. He had the cameras in their individual evidence bags, each on marked with where they were found. Living room, kitchen, bedroom, and one located on an angle that looked into the shower. There was also a zip drive that the tech had loading the video onto from the cameras.

"The cameras each had their own transmitters built in as well as a memory card, there were also motion detectors set so that when they were triggered it would know to turn on. So we've been trying to figure out just how far back the footage goes. This is the earliest." He pressed play, an image of the living room appeared on the screen. Bobby, along with the rest of the detectives, watched as Sophie flopped down on the couch.

There was no sound; she appeared to be talking to someone off screen. A few seconds later Bobby appeared to the side of the screen, lingering near the kitchen. He remembered when this was. It was two weeks ago…

**27-27-27-27-Flashback-27-27-27-27**

"Mrs. Crane said that she let the cable man in around 2 today." Bobby smiled as Sophie walked through the door, mail in hand.

"Don't tease me." Sophie warned. "I've been without cable for weeks. Very long weeks."

"Hey, I thought I was keeping you entertained."

"Yes and you did a very good job of it. But the playoffs are starting and I need to see your New York Rangers get their collective asses kicked." She smiled, leaning down to kiss him.

"Don't let anyone hear you talking like that. The Penguins are not the team of choice around here."

"I'll be in the living room." She grinned, leaving the room. He watched as she flopped down on the couch and picked up the new remote. "Oh hello new friend."

"You're talking to inanimate objects and haven't even had a beer yet?" Bobby teased, sitting down next to her, handing her a bottle. "You're a strange woman."

"Face it baby, you love me because I'm strange."

"I'm sure I'd love you anyways."

"You love me even though I don't support New York sports?"

"Yes, I love you despite your bad taste in hockey teams." She laughed, leaning into him.

**27-27-27-27-End Flashback-27-27-27-27**

"Two weeks ago… Monday night." Bobby said quietly. The technician just nodded, apparently that made some sense to him.

"All right. This is from tonight." The tech said, pulling up another image. Bobby watched as he said goodbye to her at the door. Mere moments later, when Sophie had returned to the living room they saw Harris catch her by surprise. The slap across her face, the struggle for the gun, the second hit as he knocked her to the couch. Bobby wasn't prepared to see Harris pushing his girlfriend against the bedroom wall.

"Any idea on where these cameras were purchased?" Eames asked the tech. She had noticed her partner's silent reaction to the video, which was now showing Sophie pushing Harris away while yelling at him.

"I've found three store locally that carry the same model of camera." The tech handed Stabler a paper with the name of each store and the addresses. He then passed the sheet on to Cragen.

"Alright. Goren and Stabler, you take the first one. Eames and Liv," He handed the two women the list, "I'll take the third." Each set of detectives took their address and headed off in their own directions.

**27-27-27-27-Eames and Liv-27-27-27-27**

"Have you and Goren been partners long?" Liv asked as they drove to the down town camera shop.

"About seven years. I transferred from Vice and Bobby had been in Narcotics. You and Stabler?"

"About nine, give or take. I had worked undercover for a few months and then in computer crimes before coming back to SVU." Liv paused for a moment, thinking over what she was going to say next. "Look, I'm sorry about Elliot, I know he can be a bit brash sometimes. He didn't mean anything by the wack job comment."

"I know that Bobby has a reputation for strange behavior. But he's a good detective, one of the best I've ever worked with. People tend to ignore his arrested record because of his unconventional methods."

**27-27-27-27- Goren and Stabler-27-27-27-27**

The car ride was quiet. Stabler was focused on driving and Bobby was trying to keep calm. The store was a rundown, hole in the wall spy shop. One of those places that cheap private eyes and perverts use. Behind the counter was bored, rather shabby looking man playing with a computer and some sort of memory card. He looked up warily when Bobby and Stabler entered, making them as cops almost instantly.

"Yeah?" He asked, not looking up again from his work.

"We need to know if you've seen either of these people." Stabler said, setting down Harris' ID picture from the Feds and Nicole's mug shot.

"Nope, sorry." The man said, still not looking up.

"You didn't even look at the pictures." Bobby observed, controlling his annoyance. Normally he would've found some common thread to coax the man into looking up, but not today. Not with time running out.

"Buddy, I really don't have the time or the interest in looking at your pictures…" The man didn't finish his comment. Bobby had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him across the counter.

"I really don't care about your time or interest at this point. This is not the day you want to be fucking around with me. Now look at the pictures and see if you recognize either of them." Bobby let go of the guy and pushed the two pictures down in front of him.

"Yeah. They were in here a few weeks ago. She's foreign, obviously wearing the pants in the relationship. The bought a handful of mini-cams with motion sensors."

"How'd they pay?" Stabler asked.

"Cash. But I have a phone number. I was short one camera and told them I'd be in touch with it was ready to be picked up." The man turned to find the phone number that he had written down on a scrap of paper.

"Why don't you wait outside? Get some fresh air." Stabler suggested to Bobby. With a nod Bobby left the room. He got outside of the shop and took a deep breath. _Keep it together, you've got to keep it together,_ he told himself.

"You're partner's kinda intense…" The man handed over the number "I could file police brutality."

"I didn't see anything." Stabler shrugged turning to leave. "Thanks for the cooperation."

Outside Bobby was leaning against the car door; it took him about a moment to realize that Stabler was the one with the keys. He looked up when the door opened and he saw Stabler coming towards him.

"You okay?"

"Fine. D'you get it?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Bobby pulled out his cell phone and dialed the police station, "lets see where this leads us. The two detectives got into the car and drove off, Bobby waiting for the voice on the phone to answer his request. Another moment passed before Bobby closed his phone.

"Got something?"

"An old warehouse."

"Where." Bobby gave him the directions.

"I'll call for back up."

**27-27-27-27-Warehouse-27-27-27-27**

Sophie slowly opened her eyes. She had drifted off yet again. The blood flowing from the gash on her head seemed to be slowing. However consciousness was proving difficult to grasp.

"Oh don't doze off again so quickly." Came a male voice. Sophie looked up and forced her eyes to open again.

"Eddie?"

"Long time no see." He grinned, moving closer. "Nicole told me to keep an eye on you. I was thinking of making it more of a hands on kind of job."

Sophie blinked and found that she wasn't able to open her eyes again.

**27-27-27-27-27 -27-27-27-27**

**That's it for right now. I've got a pretty good idea for the next chapter. Hope everyone enjoys the new episode tonight! Super exciting eh? Reviews are appreciated. **


	28. Chapter 28

"Sophie?"

It felt as though hours had passed. Sophie had trouble lifting her head, but some how she managed it. The voices in the room were bringing her out of haze, she was faintly aware that someone had said her name. Sirens were loud… her already throbbing head was hurting more then before. Slowly she opened her eyes to see that Nicole was standing in front of her, a gun pointed at Bobby and Elliot, both of which had their guns pulled.

On the floor nearby was Eddie, not moving, bleeding from a shot to the shoulder. Sophie was almost certain that it was Bobby's bullet that did this. Even closer was Eddie's discarded gun, almost within grasp.

"What are you going to do Bobby? Shoot me? Kill me? Are you willing to take that chance? Willing to see just how good of a shot you are, considering my close proximity to Agent Rooks?" Nicole cocked the trigger of her gun and pointed it at Sophie's head.

"Nicole don't underestimate my willingness to shoot you." Bobby could feel a slight tremor in his hand but quickly steadied it. Elliot was near by and they could hear other officers coming into the warehouse. Out of the corner of his eye Bobby caught sight of Eames, gun drawn and wearing her bulletproof vest.

"Don't underestimate mine."

"If you shoot me Nicole then the game is up. If you shoot her, then I shoot you and the game is still over. There's only one way out of this." Nicole glanced at Sophie for a moment before turning back to Bobby. Elliot had noticed the small movements that Sophie made when she regained consciousness and wasn't as surprised as Nicole and Bobby when they heard the click of a trigger being moved into place.

Nicole slowly turned towards Sophie. Eddie's gun was now pointing up at her. It was beyond Sophie how she was capable of a steady hand at the moment. But she kept the gun from shaking and just waited.

"Give me a reason." Sophie said as clearly as she could manage.

"Hoping to gain your favorite Detective's respect?" She looked at Sophie then over at Bobby. "Harris and I have been watching the two of you. What does it say when a women feels the need to spread her legs every hour. Worried you won't be able to keep anyone interested otherwise?"

"Not everyone uses sex in that capacity." Bobby pointed out, Nicole had a tendency of taking things to an unnecessary level, his sex life with Sophie was that level.

"Maybe you just want to avenge your fallen mentor?" She suggested.

"No. Me. You Australian bitch." A twitch of a finger was all it took. One gunshot, followed quickly by two more. For a moment no one was really sure what had happened. Nicole wore a shocked expression as the gun fell from her hand, landing on the cement floor with a **thud**. Her limp body soon followed. Eames moved further into the room, her hand covered Bobby's coaxing him to lower his shaking hands and taking the freshly fired gun.

Sophie too was experiencing the same shock. Her hand shook as she lowered Eddie's weapon. With the blood loss and the injury to her head Sophie found that she was lacking the sheer strength to hold her arm up any more. It took a second for her to realize that Bobby was crouching down infront of her, unlocking the handcuffs with the key Elliot had picked up off of Eddie. As soon as her wrist was free she fell forward, resting her forehead against his chest.

"Bobby…" She mumbled. "Bobby… I'm sorry… I should've… should've gone with you… Harris is dead." Everything was falling from her lips and was difficult to make out through heavy sobs. The stress, the sheer exhaustion of it all was escaping her usually stable exterior. Her entire body was trembling as the tears escaped her.

Elliot had gone to find the paramedics while Eames leaned down to check if Nicole had a pulse. It was weak. Bobby's bullet had injured a shoulder, while Sophie's had caught Nicole by surprise and caused her to miss Bobby by a good foot or so. That wound was in her thigh. She looked up to see her partner blinking back his own tears as he tried to calm Sophie, who was clinging to him as desperately as she could with her weak limbs.

Sophie was vaguely aware that she had been lifted from the ground. Bobby had carefully picked her up and was carrying her outside to the ambulance. He managed to loosen her grip so that he could set her down on the gurney. A paramedic quickly moved in, cleaning up the blood from around the gash on her head. It was going to need a few stitches and they wanted to do a full work up at the hospital. Nicole was being rushed off in another ambulance; she was going to need emergency surgery to remove the two bullets.

"She was going to shoot you." Sophie mumbled rather incoherently. "I saw her pull the trigger…"

"Shh…" Bobby soothed. "She missed. Just close your eyes." He brushed his hand over the uninjured side of her face. "Close your eyes." Sophie nodded and did as he said. She listened as the paramedic explained her condition to Bobby; he kept her hand clasped in his own. The stitches wouldn't be too bad, there were a few bruises beginning to form where Harris had smacked her and her wrist was swollen from where the handcuff had been.

Sophie felt the ambulance pull to a stop and heard the sirens go silent. She had drifted off to sleep. Almost half an hour had passed before she woke up again. This time she found herself in a hospital bed, Bobby was out in the hall talking with some of the other detectives, facing the open door so that he could see into the room. When he noticed that she was awake he excused himself.

"Hi." He closed the door softly behind him.

"Hi." She tried to sit up but quickly changed her mind.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking her hand.

"Groggy… what happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Sophie paused for a minute, thinking back.

"I shot Nicole."

"So did I."

"Group activity." She mumbled in a dry tone.

"She's in surgery. They stitched up your forehead… Sophie… I need to know… did Eddie or Harris…?"

"No." She said quickly. "Harris tried, but I managed to rebuff him. Eddie was about to when Nicole called him away… I blacked out… you shot Eddie?"

"He was moving away from you, pulling his gun. I shot him in the shoulder." Sophie looked down at his hands, blinking back tears.

"I'm sorry Bobby… I'm so sorry, I should've just gone with you to the hospital."

"Soph this isn't your fault. We didn't know that Harris was waiting…"

"He's dead."

"We know, Nicole had Eddie drop the body… the M.E. examined him… she found a tumor that seemed to account for his change in personality."

"He was a good guy at one point." Sophie sighed. "How long are they keeping me for?"

"Just over night. They want to make sure you get some fluids in you, between the blood lost and dehydration… try to rest. I'll be right back." He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, thanks for finding me." Bobby smiled, kissing her again.

"Well I am quite fond of you." She smiled weakly and closed her eyes as Bobby left the room. She tried to relax but something told her that the night wasn't over quite yet.

**28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28-28**

Well that's it for right now. Reviews are delightful as are new episodes of CI.


	29. Chapter 29

Bobby quietly exited the room, careful not to slam the door. He was surprised to find his partner seated outside, waiting for him. He had been sitting with Sophie, waiting for her to fall asleep again. An hour or so had passed; he hadn't expected anyone to still be there.

"Is she all right?"

"Yeah, they just want to keep her overnight for observation. I was going to go wash up." Eames then noticed just how much blood had managed to stain his hands and his shirt.

"If you want to run home and get a fresh shirt I can stay with Sophie." Bobby smiled gratefully at his partner's offer before looking back to the room. His initial plan was to clean up the best he could in the hospital bathroom and maybe locate a clean shirt from the gift shop.

"Are you sure? I just don't want her to wake up alone, Sophie and hospitals aren't a great combination after last year."

"It's no problem, go ahead."

"Thanks." He smiled sincerely. "I'll be quick." Eames just nodded and watched her partner disappear down the hallway before she entered Sophie's room. At first it seemed like Sophie was going to sleep soundly, but within 10 minutes she woke with a start, her eyes searching the room but not finding Bobby.

Glancing at the door she noticed that Eames was in the hallway speaking with a doctor. After a few minutes Eames returned to the room, surprised to find Sophie awake.

"Hi." She greeted softly, taking the chair next to the bed.

"Hi."

"Bobby will be back in a little bit, he went to get cleaned up." Sophie just nodded; he did get a lot of blood on him at the warehouse.

"Who was the doctor?"

"Uh, Doctor Kline, he was the surgeon working on Nicole. She's stable, out of surgery, handcuffed to her bed." Sophie smiled appreciatively at the last comment.

"Is everyone else okay?"

"They removed the bullet from Eddie's shoulder, other then that no one go hurt."

"Good… good…" Sophie hadn't realized that she repeated herself; she also didn't realize how much the conversation had taken out of her. Eames watched as her partner's girlfriend drifted off to sleep. With a quiet smile she picked up a newspaper and waited for Bobby's returned.

**29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29**

Bobby was pretty sure that he had never showered and dressed so quickly, but he was intent on getting back to the hospital. He had just gotten on the elevator when a hand reached in and stopped the doors from closing.

"Elliot… hey." Bobby acknowledged as the man stood next to him.

"Hey. How's Sophie?"

"She's good. Stitches for that gash and a couple of bruises but she'll get to come home tomorrow."

"Good… I'm glad she's all right." Bobby nodded. "Nicole's out of surgery. Doctor said she'd be ready to stand trial in a few weeks."

"Is someone guarding her room?"

"Yeah, just on my way to double check." The elevator stopped and Elliot stepped off. "She's in 291."

Bobby just nodded, filing that piece of information away for later, after he checked on Sophie.

**29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29**

The room was silent when he entered. As Bobby shut the door Nicole woke, aware that someone had entered her room.

"You shot me." Nicole said after a moment of silence, watching as Bobby leaned against the wall across from her bed.

"I told you that I wouldn't hesitate to do so." He reminded her, not budging from his place against the wall.

"I hate to burst everyone's bubble but I've been shot in the leg, running isn't exactly an option at this point." She lifted her wrist, which was cuffed to the bar of the bed. "I don't suppose that this could disappear."

"Not a chance in hell Nicole. In addition to your new accessory, we have a guard posted outside at all times, should you try anything clever."

"Your special agent is alive and well?"

"I'm not here to discuss her with you."

"What are you here for? Finishing me off?"

"No." A humorless laugh escaped his lips. "No. There's no need for that because in a few weeks you'll be in a courtroom, after that you'll be strapped to a different bed, someone waiting with a needle."

"You sweet talker." Nicole remained emotionless.

"What I don't understand is what your beef with Sophie is… jealousy perhaps?"

"Yes Bobby, you've figured me out, I'm desperately jealous of your scarred, brunette girlfriend." Nicole said with a sarcastic laugh before switching to a mocking tone. "Yes, I know abut the scars, the two of you had your clothes off ever 20 minutes in the footage those cameras picked up. Such a shame, I'm sure that she had flawless skin before."

"You aren't getting away this time Nicole." Bobby ignored Nicole comment on Sophie's scars from the injury that she inflicted.

"Well, you never can be sure, after all a jury let me off once before."

"Lets see. Attempted murder of a federal agent, kidnapping of a federal agent, murder… I see a guilty verdict in your future."

"Hmm… too bad it was only attempted." Nicole said softly, closing her eyes. Bobby thought for a moment on her words… She couldn't possibly have another plan in the works. He quickly got up and rushed towards the elevators, something just didn't feel right. Nicole's words didn't sit well with him, he needed to get upstairs and see for himself that Sophie was okay.

The elevator was taking too long, it was only one floor up and the stairs were close. Bobby hurried, taking two steps at a time, and then running down the hall. He felt his heart sink when he found the room empty. A moment passed as he tried to think when he heard a noise from the behind him…

**29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29-29**

**Oh I do love my suspense don't I? As always reviews are incredible and I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly… semi-quickly. Also I'm working on a related bit to go along with this series, I'll let everyone know when I get the first bit of that posted if y'all are interested.**


	30. Chapter 30

Bobby turned quickly at the sound behind him. There in the doorway was a slow moving Sophie being assisted by Eames. Both women were surprised to see Bobby's worried expression. He looked relieved as he pulled Sophie into his arms. Leaving both women even more confused.

"Everything okay?" Sophie asked, pulling back slightly so she could look up at him.

"Fine… just… fine." He realized that he was acting rather peculiar... well more so then usual. "Uh, where'd you two go?"

"The bathroom in here isn't working so I had to go down the hall. My balance isn't great right now so Alex walked with me."

"I'm gonna get going… I'll see you on Monday Bobby." Eames said, sensing the couples need to be alone. "Glad you're okay Sophie."

"Thanks." She turned and smiled. She and Eames would never be best friends or anything. But there was a kinship between those who were close to the eccentric genius. The door was closed and the two of them were alone. "What's wrong? And don't say nothing because you look like you ran up a flight of stairs."

"I was downstairs… talking to Nicole, she said something that sounded like… she had something else planned for you."

"Oh Bobby." She sighed, leaning into him so that her head rested on his shoulder, careful that her stitches remained untouched. She tightened her arms around his middle, keeping him close.

"You remember what you said to me last night?" She just nodded. "That goes both ways. I can't loose you Sophie."

This wasn't Bobby's type of thing. When it came to the deep feelings he'd keep it to himself, a trait he was holding onto from his single days. The most he usually says is "I love you." Which is more then enough for Sophie. Moments like this she didn't need verbal declarations. His hand stroking her hair was enough; his other arm holding her close it was more then enough.

"Bobby… I'm going to fall asleep standing up." She whispered softly, not wanting to break their contact but unable to fight the weakness she felt in her legs. He just nodded and helped her climb into the bed. "You know one of the perks of there being an obesity issue in this country?"

"What's that?" He asked with an amused smile.

"Beds are bigger then they used to be." She said sliding over so that he could lie down next to her. It was small, but cozy and they were more then okay with that at the moment. Sophie wrapped her arm around Bobby's middle and let him pull her close again.

"I'm bigger then I used to be."

"I like you as you are." Sophie said as she stifled a yawn. "I even like it when you don't shave. That whole gruff beard thing is hot."

Bobby was amused with her casual tone, like she was asking him to pick up some juice on the way home from work. He remained silent as she took hold of his right hand and held it up to her own. Like a child she pushed her left hand palm to palm with him. He kept his eyes on her as she examined the differences. How much larger his was in comparison.

"I like your fingers too. I often find myself jealous of your books."

"My books?"

"Yeah, the way you finger through them."

"That could be taken a variety of different ways." Bobby laughed, lacing his fingers through hers.

"Maybe we can avoid the less G-rated versions of that comment when I'm feeling better."

"I'll look forward to it."

Sophie yawned again, unsuccessful at restraining this one.

"Close you're eyes." Bobby said in a calming tone, stroking her hair. Sophie gave a small nod and rested her head on his chest. "Get some sleep."

"You've got me."

"I've got you." He hugged her tighter, "I've got you Soph."

--30--

Short chapter yes, next will be longer. Just wanted to get this up, my little attempt at some sweetness and what have you. Reviews are awesome and appreciated.


	31. Chapter 31

"You awake?" Sophie asked quietly.

"Yeah." Bobby tried to shift, making himself more comfortable. "This is a romantic notion and all, but I prefer our own bed."

"Me too. It is cozy though." Bobby smiled and kissed the top of Sophie's head.

"How long have you been up for?"

"A few minutes." She sighed, snuggling closer into Bobby's side.

Before he could reply they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Bobby reluctantly climbed out of bed, crossing the room.

"Ron." Bobby greeted in surprise pulling the door opened. Sure enough ADA Ron Carver was standing in the hallway.

"I take it from you surprised tone that Danny didn't speak to you?"

"Uh no, busy night."

"Is this a bad time, I can always come back." Bobby turned back to Sophie who had pulled the covers up and had been watching the two men speaking. She simply shook her head.

"No, come in please. Ron Carver, this is Sophie Rooks."

"Nice to meet you Miss Rooks, I hope you're feeling better?" Ron shook her hand.

"Much better, thank you."

"I'm sure you can guess why I'm here. Nicole will be going to trial in a few weeks. I wanted to make sure that you were both willing to testify."

"Absolutely." Sophie said with out a moment of hesitation.

"Detective Goren?"

"Of course." Bobby replied. He seemed somewhat wary about Sophie agreeing to testify so readily. So far she had been handling things all right. It had taken a bit of time but she had finally dealt with the wound she received almost a year before, with Harris' betrayal, and even the latest batch of tribulations issued by Nicole. However being in court, on the stand, had the ability to shake someone. To hurt them and crush them.

Bobby had seen this often enough. Things could easily become uncomfortable and painful. Only a few years ago he watched his own partner bullied and forced to reveal something she had been keeping secret.

"All right then. I'll be in contact when I know more about the trial date."

"Thanks." Bobby said. Ron left the room just as quickly as he had entered it. Probably going down to Nicole's room, to inform her of the trial and that she would need a lawyer. Hopefully she wouldn't get off this time. There was no rich dote, with a high priced lawyer on retainer, following her blindly.

"Bobby?" He looked up; Sophie had been calling his name, finally shaking him from his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Fine… are you sure you want to testify?"

"Positive. Bobby, I need to do this. As hard as it'll probably be… it would be harder if I didn't and she got a light sentence."

"Wouldn't be the first time." He agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out the window. She moved down the bed so that she was sitting at his side. Putting her arms around him in an awkward half hug, she pulled him close.

"We'll get her this time." She reassured him softly. "We will."

He nodded, placing a hand over the place where hers rested on his shoulder. That was the difference from all the other times he faced Nicole. This time he had Sophie. He had her reassurance and in her, someone to lean on.

"If you can find my pants we can head home." She whispered, planting a quick kiss below his ear before pulling back to look at him.

"Oh Sophie, when will you learn to keep track of your pants." He mused aloud as he stood up and looked for her clothes. They had been put in a bag and stored under the bed.

"Babe, as long as I'm with you pants are rather pointless." She smiled, taking the articles of clothing as he handed them to her.

"You've got the soul of a poet Sophie Rooks." She laughed, climbing out of bed and removing the paper gown. He looked at her bare skin appreciatively, "Of course… I can't really disagree with that."

Bobby watched as Sophie dressed, she seemed to be a bit steadier on her feet. The doctor stopped by and gave Sophie one final check before he would sign the release papers. Once she received a clean bill of health they were out of the hospital and on their way home. Neither said anything, but both were thinking about the room where Nicole was, chained to her bed. At least there was some comfort to be found in that.

The house was in a bit of disarray after the gaggle of police that had been through the night before. Sophie's first instinct was to start cleaning up the place, but truth be told, she was still exhausted and Bobby knew it.

"Go upstairs and lie down, I'll clean up down here and order some food for lunch." She reluctantly agreed and gave him a small kiss before climbing the stairs to their bedroom. It was going to be time for the trial in only a few weeks and Bobby wanted Sophie to be ready. She needed to heal physically and emotionally before getting on that stand. Bobby knew that she would put on a strong front and hide what was really going on inside. They were very much a like in that respect.

The next two weeks were going to feel like an eternity.

-- --

Sorry for such a long wait. Remedial math classes and turning the big 2-0 took over for a few weeks there. I'll try and avoid such a gap again. Reviews are always appreciated. Also if you're interested I started two other stories this week one for Harry Potter and one for Dark Knight, check out my profile if you're interested. And on another note: OH MY GOD! THE PREVIEW FOR THE SEASON FINALE!


	32. Chapter 32

"Agent Rooks." Ron greeted, standing up from behind his desk and moving to shake the woman's hand.

"Oh, please, call me Sophie." He nodded and gestured to the two seats in front of his desk.

"Goren."

"Ron."

"I wanted to make sure that you were both ready for the trial. We should be starting in two days. Nicole has been denied bail and is pleading not guilty by mental disease or default."

"What?" Bobby was shocked. "They can't possibly believe that… everything she's ever done has been meticulously planned by someone with a homicidal mind, not a damaged- -"

"Detective I am well aware of this and have arranged a psych consult with Dr. Huang from the FBI. He often helps with SVU cases."

"We're well acquainted with Dr. Huang." Sophie added before Ron moved on.

"Who's representing her?" Bobby asked.

"An old friend apparently, Richard Moss. He's capable, not much of a success record. Plus there is very little evidence that is on his side."

A knock on the door interrupted any further conversation. Ron excused himself to speak with the secretary that had peeked in. When he returned he didn't retake the seat behind the desk.

"I'm afraid this has to be cut short. My presences has been requested _upstairs._" Both Bobby and Sophie just nodded; they knew that it would be about the case. "If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call."

-- --

The past two weeks proved to be strained for everyone. Eames found herself tiptoeing around her partner and his manic moods. Sophie also found that she needed to be cautious around Bobby and what she said. Granted he could never be described as "chatty" but he had changed that slightly when they became more seriously involved. They'd talk about work for a few minutes during dinner, no real details since they couldn't discuss on going cases. Lately he'd barely say anything. They'd come home from work, have dinner, then Bobby would either read or disappear into the garage to work on his car.

After the first week of this Sophie had finally had enough. He'd rushed off to the garage again; she cleaned up the dishes before following him out. The main door was opened, it was freezing out but not snowing. Bobby was bundled up and leaning over the engine, trying to find something else that needed to be fixed. He knew there was nothing. The car was in pristine order to begin with, over the past week he pretended that something had to be fixed.

"Bobby, that engine is immaculate. What's wrong?" Sophie asked, tightening the sweater she was wearing over her chest, crossing her arms.

"Nothing's wrong. Are you okay?" She quirked an eyebrow at this, he was being evasive.

"I'm fine. Bobby, something is obviously wrong… Alex thinks so too…" She stopped, realizing that she mentioned something that she hadn't intended to.

"You talked to Eames?"

"Not intentionally. She called to remind you that Ron Carver wants to see us in the morning."

"And you started chatting about me? I don't like being talked about Soph."

"Well, tell ya what, why don't you make a list of who I can and cannot speak to so that I know next time." She uncrossed her arms and pulled something out of her pocket. "You left this in the house."

He looked down at the phone she had forced into his hands before hurrying back to the house. Tucking the cell away he stopped for a moment before slamming closed the hood of the car. Again he hesitated, than moved towards the house, closing the garage door behind him.

Sophie had curled up on the couch with a book. She'd grabbed the blanket from the near by chair, it had been colder outside then she had thought and was trying to warm back up. She didn't look up when Bobby came in, or when he sat down at the edge of the couch and positioned her feet in his lap.

"What're you reading?"

"Rebel Rose. This woman was a spy during the Civil War." She explained without looking up. He watched as she spoke, not looking up from the book, her eyes moving along each line of text.

"Sounds interesting."

"It is."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's fine."

"Sophie." She looked up. "I'm sorry."

"I know… I just wish you'd talk to me instead of hiding out in the garage."

"I just don't know what to say… I keep thinking that if you and I had never gotten involved then maybe…"

"Bobby!" She was genuinely surprised at this utterance. It took a moment for her to realize what to say in response. "This is not your fault."

"The logical part of me knows that but—"

"This is _not your fault._" She repeated. "Nicole got involved with Harris before we even knew each other. If it weren't for you… Bobby if you hadn't been there that night I would've bled out in that alley."

His head shot up at that. The thought had crossed his mind many times. That had he not been there she might've died. There were still clear memories that would manifest in his dreams. Seeing her blood covering his hands again… nothing could erase that from his mind.

"Come on. We're going to get pie."

Now it was his turn to be surprised. He watched as she toss the blanket over the back of the couch and put her book aside. She took his hand and tugged so that he would get up.

"Pie?"

"Mm hmm."

There was a cheap dinner a few minutes away from the house. It was rather dead around this time. In an hour when the cab drivers took their breaks it would fill up. They were able to sit in a corner booth, interrupted only by the waitress bringing two plates of pie.

"Are you nervous about testifying?" Bobby asked.

"Not really. I've done it before. Nicole should probably take up prayer."

Bobby didn't say anything, just took a moment to put down his fork and brush the bangs away from Sophie's face. She smiled brightly at him before taking a bite from his plate.

"You always do this." He sighed.

"I can't help it. Some how you always get a slice of my back up choice."

He smiled and shook his head before pushing his plate towards her.

-- --

All righty, that's it for right now. I'll try and get some more up depending on how much homework I get this weekend. Imagine this, a screenwriting class that actually lets us write! It's a magical thing this college place. As always reviews are loved and heavily sought after. And oh my God! That last episode?!


	33. Chapter 33

"Do you swear to help the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do." The clerk nodded to Sophie and disappeared to where ever it is they go. Nicole's lawyer stood and moved towards the bench.

"Agent Rooks, how long have you been a Federal Agent?"

"Almost 17 years."

"That's quite the stretch of time. How long did you work with Agent Harris?"

"14 years."

"You had a personal relationship as well?"

"Objection your honor, relevance?" Carver was on his feet.

"I'm getting to it." The defense lawyer replied.

"Just move it along." The judge nodded.

"Agent Rooks, you had a personal relationship with Agent Harris?"

"Yes. I was engaged to his son."

"So, you were almost part of his family, spent the majority of your career working with him and you had no idea that he was ill."

"I really had no idea. In retrospect I can see things that indicated there was a problem."

"But you ignored them?"

"Harris was getting old, he'd forget little things. I didn't think anything of it."

"And how long have you been dating Detective Goren?"

"Objection." Carver was standing again. "Relevance?"

"Approach." The judge leaned forward as the two men moved towards her.

"I don't see what Agent Rooks and Detective Goren's private life has to do with this trial."

"Detective Goren has been obsessed with my client and putting her behind bars for years now. It is entirely possible that his girlfriend has been coerced into lying to make that happen."

"I'll allow it, but tread lightly."

"Agent Rooks?"

"A year."

"Did Detective Goren ask you to lie on the stand to ensure that Miss Wallace would be put away?"

"No, he didn't. There's no need to lie—"

"That's enough." The lawyer retook his seat and it was Carver's turn.

"Agent Rooks, why is there no need to lie?"

"Because Nicole shot me in an alley way last year. I think that's rather indisputable."

"Objection your honor, here say."

"Overruled."

"Agent Rooks, could you explain to the court what happened that night?" It was a closed courtroom, the outcome of the trial would be left up to the judge, Nicole's lawyer was unimpressive (to say the least), and the psych plea fell through within the first few moments of Huang's interview.

"Detective Goren and Agent Harris were in the middle of a stand off with a suspect, Nicole made a run for it and I followed her into the alley. I didn't see where she went… I was caught by surprise and she knocked the gun from my hands, then preceded to pull it on me."

"What was the extent of your injury, if any?"

"I was shot in the abdomen. There was too much damage… they had to perform a hysterectomy." A year ago Sophie couldn't say any of this without her voice quivering. Now she speaking as clearly as always, not letting Nicole's unwavering glare throw her.

"And you're absolutely certain that is was Nicole Wallace who shot you?"

Sophie turned her gaze to Nicole and fixed it there. "Absolutely."

"No further questions your honor."

-- --

"Detective Goren, you've been pursuing my client for years now. Is it safe to say that you're behavior during this past case was obsessive to say the least?"

"My behavior was motivated by concern. There were two dead bodies and Agent Rooks had been kidnapped."

"Yes but isn't it true that video cameras that were planted in your home showed Agent Harris as the one who abducted Agent Rooks, not Miss Wallace. And Eddie Del Marco has take responsibility for shooting Agent Harris and murdering his niece. Wouldn't this suggest that Miss Wallace was simply an accomplice?"

"Normally yes, but…"

"Oh, no that's enough. No further questions your honor."

"Detective Goren, why do you believe Miss Wallace to be more then an accomplice?"

"Past experience. Nicole has proven to be the mastermind behind almost every crime she'd been involved with."

"She was present at the warehouse where Agent Rooks was being held?"

"Yes, we found Agent Rooks handcuffed to a radiator, Nicole had a gun pointed at her head."

"Did she fire the gun at any point?"

"She shot at me and missed. Agent Rooks had managed to reach a gun and shot Nicole… as did I." It was obvious that Bobby felt no remorse about Nicole's injuries.

-- --

It didn't take long for a verdict to come in. Stabler and Huang both testified. Elliot explained the evidence, the man at the camera store who identified Nicole as the one who paid, Sophie's gun that was taken that night in the alley was the same one used to kill Millie. The evidence of guilt was overwhelming and the verdict reflected as such.

-- --

"Bobby." Eames called her partner as soon as she hung up the phone. He looked up from the open case file on his desk. "That was Carver. Verdict's in."

-- --

**Next Chapter: Celebration. And yay! This story reached 100 reviews! A first for any of my stories. Thanks so much everyone. **


	34. Chapter 34

Sophie sat motionless on the floor, her back supported by the foot of the bed. Bobby quietly entered the bedroom, sitting down next to her. Without a word he handed her a tumbler full of whiskey, he brought one along for himself. She accepted it gratefully, taking a sip before leaning her head back.

"You heard?" Bobby asked, drinking some of his own.

"Yeah." She replied weakly. "Good whiskey."

"Yeah… you doing okay?"

"Fine. You?"

"Fine." Bobby put his free arm around her shoulders; Sophie moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her forehead then took another sip.

"I love you." She murmured, pressing a kiss to his neck.

"I love you too." He replied. In the dark bedroom they finished their glasses of whiskey and remained on the floor for the next hour or so. Both contemplating the last few days. Both happy to just be next to each other. It wasn't long before they were looking to each other for physical comfort. They passed another hour just taking simple pleasure in gentle attention. After they finished Bobby reached up and grabbed a blanket from the bed as Sophie dozed next to him on the carpet.

Silently he turned onto his side and watched over her. Observing her chest as it slowly rose and fell with each breath. It was another moment or two before he reached over and lightly brushed her cheek. With the movement her eyes fluttered open, looking up at him with a smile.

"You're skin is soft." He mused, caressing the other cheek with the back of his fingers. Then moved to her chin, then to her neck. He allowed his hand to linger there for a few moments, knowing that Sophie enjoyed it.

"Moisturizing." She replied in a sleepy tone, a dull vibration he felt as his fingers slid across her throat.

He grinned as his hand reached her collarbone, sliding his fingers across it before walking them over to her furthest shoulder then back. Sophie's eyes drifted shut for a moment as her body involuntarily stretched, her back arching slightly. Her hand reached up and covered his own. Her free hand wrapped over where they were already joined, her thumb slipped underneath, rubbing his palm.

"I love you very much." Sophie murmured, pressing his hand down where it had paused on her chest, right above her heart. "Very much."

"I love you. More then I thought was possible." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "More then I could've imagined possible." He freed his hand and reached for his suit pants, which had been discarded earlier. "I've been carrying this around with me for weeks now."

Sophie opened her eyes and looked down… he was holding a ring. Quickly her eyes shot back up to his smiling face.

"That's…"

"Yup."

"You're…"

"Mm-hmm. My mom's engagement ring, one nice thing my brother did for me. I want to marry you."

"I want to marry you too." She smiled, leaning forward and kissing him softly. He pulled back long enough to slide the ring onto her finger. Glancing down he couldn't get over how perfect it looked on her slender digit. "Sophie Goren… definitely has possibilities."

"Glad you think so." He brushed a few stray hairs away from her face as they laid back down. With a content sigh, she snuggled into his side. For a brief moment it felt as though all was right with the world.

-- --

So I think that's it for Sheer Luck. Thanks to everyone for reading and for the reviews. I have a glimmer of an idea in the back of my mind for a follow up, be sure to keep an eye out for that. Reviews, as always, make me very happy.


	35. Note

Quick note, first chapter of Luck Forgotten is now posted. It's a follow up to Sheerluck beginning 5 months later. Check it out.


End file.
